My Heart Draws A Dream
by Mixedandtea
Summary: Sasuke's return sparked a war. A war of heart, mind, and bijou. What in the world happened while he was gone? Is there any way to have peace? SasuSaku
1. Homecoming

My Heart Draws a Dream

The voluntary return of Uchiha Sasuke has taken Konoha by surprise. To determine where his loyalties lie, Tsunade sends him and several members of the Rookie 9 to protect a jinchuuriki. During the mission, secrets about his teammate, now one of the strongest kunoichis in Konoha, are revealed. How will the secrets affect the fate of Konoha and its people? SasuSaku

* * *

Chapter 1: Homecoming

* * *

Hidden deep in the forest, the ninja village called Konohagakure resided, oblivious to the coming doom. Its people and their leader happily lived their lives, knowing naught of the horrifying secrets that could destroy the very foundation of their way of life. And the keeper of such secrets had no power to prevent it...

.::.

It was seemingly a normal day in Konohagakure. The sky was a bright, clear blue, the birds were chirping happily, and the light carefree laughter of children was loud and long. Unless, of course, you were a totally drunk Hokage slouched over her desk, freaking out over a short, simple letter that lay on the desk.

"Damn it all!" Tsunade slurred. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to get the blurring words on the letter to straighten.

_I'm returning to Konoha tomorrow._

_- Uchiha Sasuke_

Tsunade mumbled a curse and flopped back in her big chair. _Why the hell would he be coming back after all these years? It's not like Itachi is dead. Damn, I wish Sakura was here!_

.::.

Tsunade had quickly sent out the message from the scroll. By nine the next morning ninety-five percent of the Konoha shinobi knew about Sasuke's return. This included the Rookie nine and Team Gai. At eleven forty-five, there was a crowd of them at the gates.

"Man! I can't believe that asshole is actually coming back!" Naruto yelled, his mouth set in a stubborn line and his arms folded behind his head. He'd wanted to drag Sasuke's ass back to Konoha himself to show off to Sakura and Hinata.

"Be quiet, Naruto, jeez this is troublesome." Shikamaru complained. He'd been standing a few feet to Naruto's right, wearing his usual jounin outfit.

"Eh? I didn't know you were here, Shikamaru, I thought you didn't like Sasuke." He replied.

"I don't. But Sakura is due back today. I have some business to discuss with her."

"Oh right! I nearly forgot that it was today. I know!!! I'll take them both to Ichiraku!" Naruto grinned. His team would finally be reunited after six years of being apart. Suddenly, Izumo, who was on top of the gates standing guard, shouted down that he spotted two figures coming toward the gates. "Oi! It's Sasuke!" Everyone tensed and rested their hands on their weapons' holsters.

Sasuke slowly approached the gates with a woman hanging on his arm. He stopped in front of the crowd, scanning it with his cold onyx eyes.

Grinning like an idiot, Naruto let out a whoop of joy and tackled Sasuke to the ground.

"Damn it Naruto, get off of me!" Sasuke growled. He shoved Naruto off him and onto the floor. He stood up and dusted the dirt off the back of his clothes. He wore a high collared navy blue T-shirt and black pants.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!!! Your clothes are like dirty!!!" the woman shrieked. Sasuke winced at the high feminine voice in his ear. _Why the hell did I bring her with me? _He thought annoyed.

"Well well well, the great Uchiha survivor returns to Konoha." An amused female voice said behind him. Sasuke turned.

There stood an Anbu team of four. They were the usual black cloak over their armor with their swords strapped on their backs. The female who had spoken wore a cat mask and there was a wolf at her feet. It had sleek black fur and dark blue eyes which were staring right at Sasuke. The male on her left wore a bird mask. The male on her right wore a dog mask and also had a dog at his feet. This dog was white and seemed vaguely familiar to Sasuke. The female on that male's right wore a bear mask.

"Sakura-chan!!!" Naruto yelled and proceeded to hug his surrogate sister.

"Naruto! I need to breathe!" Sakura gasped as Naruto lifted her right off her feet and twirled her around in a circle.

"Ha-ha, sorry." He laughed as he set her down. He glanced at the other Anbu. "Hey Neji, Tenten and Kiba and Akamaru. Guess what? Sasuke's back forever!"

"We can see that Naruto. Now we all have to go to Tsunade's office. Hey Shika!" Sakura waved at the genius. He nodded back at her, smiling a little. She began walking away with Shikamaru falling into step with her. They began discussing something complex. She paused and turned around to face the gates. "That includes you and your… friend too, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded slowly and trailed after the chattering group. He stared at the back of Sakura's hooded head, ignoring the woman at his side who was desperately trying to get his attention.

_Wow, is that really her? It's only been six years. How can she be so freakin' different?? How come she didn't jump all over me and cry when she saw me? Is she beautiful now? How strong is she? Is she single? _All these thoughts ran through Sasuke's head. While he was fantasizing about his ex-teammate, they'd reached the Hokage's office.

"Sasuke!" Sakura's voice snapped Sasuke back. She impatiently gestured him into the open doors of the office. He and his friend quickly entered.

Tsunade sat behind her desk, leaning back in her chair. She immediately pointed to a metal chair in between Naruto and Shikamaru. Sasuke sat obediently while his friend stood behind his chair. Sakura moved to stand next to Tsunade.

"Okay let's get this over with." Tsunade sighed. "Why are you here Sasuke?"

"I killed Orochimaru" he replied simply. Tsunade raised a brow.

"So? That gave you the opportunity to hunt your bother down. There was nothing stopping you. Yet you chose to come here. Why?" she repeated.

"I don't know where he is." Sasuke muttered.

"Ah, so you assumed that by coming here you could get some free information on the possible whereabouts of Itachi. Letting us do your manual labor, Sasuke?" Tsunade smiled. "I don't think so. Instead of taking advantage of us, we're going to take advantage of you." She grinned when Sasuke's Sharingan flashed on and his fists clenched together on his lap. "I wouldn't think about leaving now though. Almost everyone in this room, especially Naruto, wouldn't hesitate to have to beat you half to death to get you to stay.

"So from now until whenever, you will be under the strict watch of your former teammates plus your replacement, Sai. You'll switch between their houses. All of your weapons will be confiscated and your chakra forced down to the most basic level. You'll undergo exams of different variety anytime I deem it necessary. And I won't hear a single hint of bad news from anyone dealing with you. Understood?" Tsunade's hard eyes glared at Sasuke.

"Hai" Sasuke said stiffly, his fists still clenched in his lap.

"Good." She smiled serenely. "You'll be staying with Sakura first. Any complaints from anyone else?" She received a unified no. "Now on to the sudden business of your companion. Name?"

"Karin." The female replied. Nodding, Tsunade turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, can you house Karin?" she asked.

"No," Sakura replied. "And neither can Naruto nor Kakashi."

"Alright then, she'll stay a hotel nearby. I'll assign Anbu to watch the hotel but you still have to watch her during the day."

"Hai," Sakura sighed.

"Okay any other questions, complaints, concerns?" Tsunade asked again. Neji stood up.

"Hokage-sama, shall we report on our mission now?" he asked.

"Ah, yes, of course. Everyone else is dismissed. Sasuke and Karin, wait outside. Izumo and Kotetsu will watch you." Tsunade ordered.

.::.

The four emerged from Tsunade's office a bit later.

"You know, Sakura, Gaara's going to get mad that you let yourself get ambushed in the village." Tenten commented. Sakura smiled a little.

"Yeah, I know, but like I explained to Tsunade-sensei, it _was _the most profitable move to make." She replied. They'd removed their cloaks during the report and Tsunade had been angry at the sight of the six inch gash of Sakura's right leg. She'd pretended to ambushed during the mission to draw out the enemy. One of the enemy ninja had blown up a building and a piece of glass had embedded itself in Sakura's leg whilst she and her team had been killing the ninja. She had only had time to pull out the glass before chasing after the fleeing ninja.

"You should heal it before you see him tonight." Neji suggested.

"That would the most profitable move to make." Kiba grinned, repeating Sakura's earlier words.

"If I have time. I have to take Karin to a hotel, get her properly checked in, check with the guards, then take Sasuke to my house, get him set up in a room, and finally take a nice hot shower. After that, I have to get ready for the party." She replied. "My dress should cover the gash."

"And once you get to the party, you have to help me and Lee hold Neji down so he won't kill Naruto for being with Hinata." Tenten grinned. Kiba and Sakura laughed. The party tonight was for Naruto and Hinata's engagement. Neji still disliked seeing the two together even though they'd been dating for three years before Naruto's proposal.

The group stopped in the waiting room. Sasuke, Karin, Izumo, and Kotetsu sat next to the door. Izumo and Kotetsu stood as the team approached.

"You two can go now." Sakura said.

"Hai. See you guys at the party." Izumo replied. The two left the building.

"Sasuke and Karin, come with me." She ordered. They got up and followed Sakura outside. They all walked down the main street. Eventually, Neji, Tenten, Kiba and Akamaru turned off on different streets to go home. The three humans and one wolf continued on silently.

Gathering up his courage, Sasuke sped up a bit so he walked next to Sakura.

"So, how long have you been Anbu?" he asked.

"A while." She replied curtly.

"Where'd you get the wolf?" he asked.

"Somewhere." She replied curtly.

"What's his name?" he asked, getting frustrated by her non-answers.

"One you don't know." She replied curtly.

"Do you still live in an apartment?" he asked.

"Maybe." She replied, purposefully being vague.

"Are you going to answer any of my questions right?" he demanded.

"I am answering your questions." She shot back.

"Not the way I want." He replied furiously. Sakura laughed a little.

"You're still the same. Still pissy when things don't go your way." She mused. She stopped in front of a place called simply 'Fire Hotel'. She opened the sliding door and stepped in. "Hey Kozo-san! Got your prized guest here." She called out in the room. The sound of running feet came from behind the door next to the counter. A middle-aged man with brown hair and grey eyes opened the door.

"Arigato, Sakura-sama. Come with me!" he told Karin. She followed him obligingly. They went back through the door. Once the sound of their feet faded, Sakura left the hotel. She made a quick hand signal to the guard outside then they continued down the street.

A bit later they stopped in front a modest home that was a bit apart from the other buildings. Sakura performed a series of quick hand seals Sasuke couldn't catch and then unlocked the front door with a key. Her wolf ran around to the back of the house while Sakura and Sasuke stepped into the house.

"You want to sleep on the first floor or the second floor?" Sakura asked him and they slipped off their sandals.

"Doesn't matter." He replied looking around the place.

The living room and kitchen were in front of him. The living room was on the right side. It held two black leather sofas, one vertical, the other horizontal, and one black leather recliner which was across from the vertical sofa. There was a low table in between the recliner and the sofa. A TV was in the corner. The kitchen was only a counter, a fridge, and a dishwasher. The kitchen table had five chairs on one side. There was a staircase down the left hallway.

"You'll be staying in the spare bedroom there." Sakura said, pointing to the door on the right. "Don't go upstairs for any reason since you're sleeping down here, and you're on your own for food and clothes. I'll just have to follow you." Sasuke nodded.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah, Naruto and Hinata's engagement party. You have to go now too." she replied. "Now stay down here while I get ready."

_Twenty Minutes Later _

"Okay, I'm ready, let's go Sasuke!" Sakura announced as she walked down the stairs. Sasuke rose from his seat on the couch and turned to see Sakura. He froze, his mouth dropping open in shock.

She wore a long dress in deep rose velvet with jeweled bands at the neck and cuffs. It was plenty sexy, with the high, long, snug sleeves, the drape to the ankles. Sasuke started to wonder just what was under that dress. Her hair was loose and Sakura turned into the kitchen and Sasuke saw the diamonds in her ears and the diamond about the size of a baby's fist snuggled in between her breasts on a gold chain. He nearly groaned aloud as she bent over to look in her refrigerator.

"Let's go." she repeated as she stepped out of the kitchen. She moved by Sasuke and he breathed in her scent which instantly made him think of fresh peaches. She grabbed her small red evening purse and slipped into a pair of red high heels. Sasuke followed her outside in a daze.

.::.

When they reached the restaurant, there was already a large amount of people there. Ino ran up to greet Sakura.

"Oh my gosh, Sakura! Gaara's going to swallow his tongue when he sees you!" she said. Sakura laughed.

"You really think so, Ino?" she asked. Ino nodded. She turned to Sasuke.

"Hey Sasuke. Welcome back, I guess. Drinks are at the left table, food on the right. Dance floor is in front of the tables. Stay off the stage." Ino said quickly then dragged Sakura away with her to the white linen-covered tables. Sasuke wandered to the drinks table where Shikamaru and Sai stood.

"Welcome back, Sasuke. My name is Sai. I'm your replacement on Team 7." Sai greeted. Sasuke nodded. The three engaged in small talk for a bit. A few minutes later, the door opened. Sasuke glanced over. Gaara walked in, wearing black slacks and a black turtleneck. His gourd wasn't strapped on his back.

Gaara glanced through the crowd and caught sight of Sakura. He walked right to her. Sakura looked up as his shadow fell over her.

"Gaara-kun!!" she grinned. She stood up and the couple kissed. Gaara wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sasuke crushed the cup in his hand. Shikamaru noticed and smiled.

"Jealous, Sasuke?" he asked. "Well if you want Sakura, you're out of luck. Those two have been dating for nearly a year. Gaara's fiercely protective. He'll kick your ass if you so much as look at Sakura the wrong way."

Sasuke ignored Shikamaru and kept his eye on the couple as the party kicked in to high gear. Naruto and Hinata made a grand entrance and made speeches, well Naruto did. Everyone danced, including Sakura and Gaara. In one slow dance, Gaara caught Sasuke staring and glared back at him.

She's mine, he mouthed and held Sakura close to him. The party wound down a few hours later and Gaara convinced Sakura to leave. The couple spoke quickly to Hinata and Naruto and left discreetly. Sasuke trailed after them.

His fists clenched as he saw Gaara stroked a hand over Sakura's ass. He seriously considered it when Gaara lowered the zipper on Sakura's dress a little bit. Sakura stepped up her pace and quickly opened the door to her house. Thankfully, Gaara waited until they had gotten up the stairs before seeing what was under Sakura's dress.

Sasuke slipped into his room and stripped off his shirt before falling on his bed. He scowled at the ceiling after hearing a soft thump from the second floor. Sakura's room must be above his. He pulled the covers over his head and sincerely wished he didn't have to see Gaara acting intimately with Sakura every single day. Or his new life would be hell.


	2. Stay Away

Chapter 2: Trouble on the Horizon

* * *

Sasuke snapped awake when he heard something fall. He jumped out of bed and was about to throw open the door when he heard Sakura moan. He slowly opened the door until one of his eyes could see into the rest of the house. His eyes widened as he saw Gaara ravishing Sakura against the counter. Her arms were stretched out, gripping the sides of the counter. Sasuke noticed that Sakura's pink silk robe was undone and Gaara was running his hands over her.

Sasuke swallowed and slowly closed the door. He leaned against the wall and tried to slow his erratically beating heart. He stared up at the ceiling helplessly as sweat rolled down his back.

_What the hell is wrong with me? _He wondered as he slid down to the floor, bending his knees then resting his arms on them. _Why do I want Sakura after seeing her once after all these years? _His thoughts switched briefly to the time when Sakura had desperately begged him to stay in Konoha and what he had done after he had knocked her out. _Could it be…_he started to think but ruthlessly pushed those thoughts away. _No freakin' way, _he thought firmly. _I do not have that kind of feeling towards Sakura. It's just hormones. I only want to get her in bed because she's the only good-looking woman I've seen…ever. _

But he'd probably never get to get her in bed, he mused. It was clear she was completely wrapped around Gaara. He stood up quickly and opened the door slightly again when he heard the couple speaking.

"When are you going back to Suna?" Sakura was asking.

"Tomorrow night at the latest." Gaara replied unhappily. He pressed his body close to Sakura's and twined one of her pink bangs around his finger. "I'll miss you." he mumbled. Sakura's brow lifted.

"You know the last you said that, it was for show. Do you mean it now?" she asked, rubbing his lower lip with her finger.

"I care about you." he replied. Smiling a little, Sakura replaced her fingers with her lips.

Sasuke closed the door. Gaara was leaving? Good. It'd be far easier to do whatever he wanted without Gaara around. The Kazekage was the only one who'd ever managed to defeat him when he was thirteen. He opened the door and stepped out, hoping the couple hadn't gone back to making out.

Thankfully, the two were now eating breakfast. Gaara glared at him. Sasuke ignored him and focused on Sakura. Her robe was retied and her hair was still messy from sleep.

"Morning." he said. Sakura grunted. Before Sasuke could continue, there was a loud banging noise coming from the door.

"Sakura-chan!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP ME!!!!!! Neji's going to KILL me!!!!" Naruto yelled as he ran into the house. Sasuke raised a brow at the blonde's outburst. He glanced at Sakura, who'd lowered her head so her eyes were shielded by her bangs.

"Naruto…how many times…do I have to tell you…TO LEAVE ME ALONE IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!!?" Sakura yelled the last part, raising her head. Naruto gulped at her and his head whipped around to see Neji stalking into the room. Sasuke could see sweat popping out on Naruto's body as Sakura and Neji slowly walked toward him.

Shaking his head, Sasuke sat down next to Gaara while Naruto got his butt kicked.

.::.

"Ow ow ow!!! I give up, Sakura-chan!!!!" Naruto yelled as another shuriken embedded itself in Naruto's leg. Sakura jumped down from the tree she had been in.

"That was too easy Naruto!" she complained.

"Then spar with Kakashi! He's the only one who can manage beat you!" he shouted back. Sakura shrugged.

"Fine then. If no one else wants to spar with me, I'll go find him." Sakura announced.

None of the others who were at the clearing stood up to spar. Sakura had beaten every one of them except for Neji. They were still too evenly matched.

Sakura gathered up her weapons and left, believing that the others would keep an eye on Sasuke. Sasuke himself was amazed at how much everyone had progressed, especially Sakura. Well she'd obviously earned her position as Anbu.

"Stop looking down on her, Uchiha." a male voice said above him. Sasuke looked up. It was Neji.

"Stop looking down on her." Neji repeated. "You don't know anything about her, or us, as a matter of fact."

"You have no idea about what I'm thinking, Hyuuga." Sasuke replied and looked away.

Neji shook his head and jumped down from the tree, heading back toward the others. Sasuke frowned but leaned back against the tree and continued analyzing the ninja.

.::.

"HEY!!! SAKURA-CHAN!!!!" Kiba yelled, running up to Sakura. Sakura turned around.

"What is it Kiba?" she asked.

"Hokage-sama would like to see all of us, including Uchiha and his girl." he replied, gesturing to the two, who were in the corner of Ichiraku. Nodding, Sakura stood up.

"Sasuke, Karin, come with us." She ordered. Sasuke glared at her but stood up. The group made its way to the Tsunade's office. Sakura knocked on the door and entered.

"Something wrong Tsunade-sensei?" Sakura asked alarmed, when she saw Tsunade holding her head in her hands. Tsunade looked up.

"The Akatsuki have obtained another jinchuuriki." she replied sadly. Sakura stiffened.

"Which one, when?" she demanded.

"The four-tailed last week. And already there are reported sightings of them near the two-tailed in Kumo." Tsunade replied.

"Hmm, they've moving westward. Odd, they've never done that before." Sakura mused.

"Whaddaya mean, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "The Akatsuki have been after the jinchuuriki for years."

"She means they've never gotten them in any understandable way. Usually they've captured them randomly." Shikamaru explained. "This is the first time we've noticed a pattern."

"Oh." Naruto said. "Hey, which Akatsuki members are going after the two-tailed?"

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame, I think." Tsunade replied. Sasuke stiffened in the chair he'd been sitting in.

"Tsunade-sama, I've got to go to Kumo. Ryo only trusts me with his life." Sakura said.

"Huh? Ryo? Do you know the two-tailed, Sakura?" Tsunade asked. Sakura nodded.

"Ryo's been sickly ever since he was born. His grandmother hired my father to take care of him for a while. I hung out with Ryo to keep him happy." she replied. Tsunade nodded.

"Alright then, I'll send you and your team, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Karin." Tsunade announced.

"WHAT?!" Sakura yelled.

"How come you're making Sasuke and his girl go?! He needs to stay here under strict guard!!" Sakura argued. Tsunade held up a hand.

"Everyone but Sakura leave now." she ordered. The others grudgingly left the office. "Listen, Sakura, since it's Itachi and Kisame going after Ryo, we can use this mission to determine Sasuke's true loyalties. His chakra is still extremely low and he has no weapons. If he acts out of line, you can take him down. Or you can let waste his little chakra by letting him stupidly fight him."

"I don't need his help to take down Itachi." Sakura grumbled. Tsunade grinned.

"Yes, I'm sure you could handle yourself just fine in any situation." Tsunade tapped a finger on her desk. "But Sakura, I need to ask you. Do you have any feelings toward Sasuke?"

"What?! No, of course not! Why would I? I'm going out with Gaara!" Sakura cried.

"Did you honestly think you fooled me even for a second?" Tsunade asked. Sakura flushed.

"W-well, maybe a little bit?" Sakura replied nervously.

"Anyway, Sakura, I need you to be extremely careful on this mission. Oh and you leave tomorrow at dawn." Tsunade ordered briskly.

"Hai!" Sakura replied and left the room.

.::.

"We leave at dawn. No fooling around." Sakura said, looking pointedly at Naruto. He gave a little hehe and looked away.

"Right. We'll see you at the gate." Shikamaru said. He turned and walked away. The others gave similar replied and left also. Sakura looked at Sasuke and Karin. She noted Sasuke's clenched fists and the small amount of chakra around it.

"Better relax Uchiha or you'll burn through what little chakra you have before we even get to Kumo." she advised.

"Whatever." he muttered. His thoughts were already miles away where his brother supposedly was.

_Miles Away Where Itachi Supposedly Was_

Itachi sneezed.

"Looks like someone's talking about you. They probably know we're here. Oh well, makes our job a lot more fun." Kisame grinned toothily. Itachi grunted and looked out the cave they were in.


	3. Don't Stay

Chapter 3: Not Good Enough

* * *

The group had been speeding through Konoha since the crack of dawn. Sakura's team was dressed in their Anbu uniforms and the two animals were running alongside their owners. Naruto and Shikamaru ran steadily behind them. Sasuke and Karin were last in line, mainly because Karin could barely keep up. Frustration radiated off Sasuke in waves.

_God! Can't the idiot run any faster?! _he thought angrily. They were lagging so far behind; he could barely see Sakura, who was in the lead.

Suddenly Sakura's wolf appeared behind the two and started barking loudly. Karin shrieked.

"Why is that mutt barking at us?! Sasuke-kun!!! Do something!" she cried. Before Sasuke could reply Karin shoved against the trunk of the tree, her feet dangling a few inches off the tree branch.

"Don't. You. Dare. Call. Kokuei. A. Mutt. Ever." Sakura said threateningly, her hand around Karin's throat. She pushed Karin's head against the tree after each word for emphasis. (Kokuei is Japanese for dark shadow)

Karin uselessly clawed at Sakura's hand gasping for air. Sasuke stood shocked at Sakura's reaction. He swallowed nervously and stepped toward Sakura. He held up a hand.

"Sakura… let her go." he said carefully. Sakura ignored him and squeezed Karin's throat tighter. Karin sputtered, desperately needing air. The others watched nervously until Neji stepped forward. He put his left hand on Sakura's right shoulder.

"Sakura, let the girl go. If you kill her, it'll take too much time to get rid of the body. We have to hurry to get to Ryo before the Akatsuki does." he said calmly. "Besides, we could always use her as a human shield."

"If you say so." Sakura muttered. She released Karin. Karin dropped to the branch, breathing in gulps of air. Her throat was going to be a mess of bruises. Bending, Sasuke helped her up. Karin lifted her head and looked at Sakura, who had bent down to pet Kokuei.

"Crazy bitch." she muttered. Neji swiftly kicked Karin in the stomach. Karin gasped and coughed up blood. Shaking, she pressed a hand to her stomach. Blood trickled out of her mouth.

"What the hell...?" she rasped painfully.

"Don't insult the best ninja in Konoha. Just keep your idiotic mouth shut." Kiba shot back.

"We've wasted enough time, let's go!" Shikamaru complained.

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura rose, dusting off her pants. She turned and sprinted away with Kokuei. The others quickly followed. Karin was even farther behind. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair.

_With everyone being so protective, no way in hell I can get close to Sakura. Gaining her trust and everyone else's is going to be harder than I thought. Damn. _He thought frustrated.

.::.

"Yes! We made it!" Naruto grinned.

"We got here in one day. That's pretty damn good." Kiba agreed.

It was early evening and the group was standing outside the gates of Kumo. Sakura ignored Naruto and Kiba and removed her Anbu mask as a Kumo ninja jumped down to them.

"What is your purpose here?!" he demanded.

"We were called here to protect Ryo." Sakura replied coolly. The man frowned. The man's older but bigger partner jumped down. He gasped when he saw Sakura.

"Sakura, is that you?!" he asked. Sakura smiled slightly.

"Hai. It's good to see you again after all these years, Narumi-san." she replied. Narumi rushed forward and grabbed Sakura in a hug that would've toppled a bear. Sakura laughed weakly and patted Narumi's shoulder. He set her down.

"So, I take it you're here to protect Ryo." he said. Sakura nodded. "Well alrighty then, come on in. Takuto-Raikage-sama will be extremely glad you accepted this duty." Narumi led the way into the village. They quickly made their way to the Raikage's castle.

.::.

"Sakura!!!!!" Takuto cried. "It's so good to see you! It's been years!!!"

He too hugged Sakura.

"Jeez, does Sakura have friends in every village?" Naruto whispered to Neji.

"Yes, on every mission, there's someone who knows Sakura. It's getting a bit scary though." he replied.

"So Sakura, are you going to kick some Akatsuki ass?" Takuto grinned.

Takuto was about 32 years old with long straight brown hair tied back into a ponytail and brown eyes. He wore the white robe of a kage over a black shirt and black pants. He leaned against his desk.

"Maybe." Sakura replied. "Are you going to fight?" Takuto shrugged.

"Ryo still only trust you." he pointed out.

"With good reason." A male voice replied from the open window. Everyone turned.

A skinny boy squatted on the window sill, his arms folded across his chest. He had thick black hair that reached his chin and purple eyes. However, there was something about him that was more surprising than his girlish looks. (pic in profile)

"Hey! He has cat ears!" Naruto shouted as he pointed at Ryo. Sakura slapped his hand down.

"Naruto! Have some respect for once!" she scolded.

"Tch. Oh, so you're the only one who can have markings that show that they are a jinchuuriki, whisker-face?" Ryo snarled. He turned his attention to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!" he said brightly. He nimbly jumped down and ran forward to hug the girl. She laughed.

"See ya, Takuto. I have some catching up to do." Sakura replied and left the room, Ryo eagerly following her.

"So what's the plan?" Shikamaru asked.

"We stay with Ryo until the Akatsuki comes. Then we kick their ass." Sakura replied.

"I like it. Simple and easy to remember." Naruto grinned. Sakura laughed.

"Sakura…hungry…" Ryo tugged on her hand.

"Well then why didn't you say so? Let's go to Todai then." Sakura replied, ruffling Ryo's hair.

.::.

"Welcome to Tod- Sakura!!!" The waiter who had turned to greet them bounced over and hugged Sakura.

"Hey Shotaro. Jeez, are any of you on a mission?" she replied.

"Actually yeah, the others are. Right now, it's just you, me, Takuto, Narumi-san, and Hatori." Shotaro gestured to a table, pulling out a chair for Sakura. They all sat gratefully, still a bit tired from the rush to Kumo.

"So what'll you have?" he asked.

"Hmm… dumplings." Ryo decided.

"Okay. Dumplings it is. 2 plates?"

"Yeah."

"Alrighty then. And Sakura do you want your usual drink?"

"Yeah," she said "and have you heard anything about the Akatsuki around here?"

"Mm-hmm. Some of the ninja stationed at the outer rim bases were found dead this morning. From the different marks on the body, we're pretty sure there's only two of them." he replied.

"Alright. They're doing the usual partner thing then. I'm pretty sure my team can take them."

Ryo grinned. He hugged Sakura briefly.

Shotaro left and came back a few minutes later with the food. He set it down and left to take another order. The group wolfed down the food and left soon after.

"So where to now, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked his arms folded behind his head.

"Ryo's dojo." she replied, pointing in the general direction of the place. "We could get some training done there and relax in the hot springs next to it."

"Oh? Won't the owners mind?"

"Nope."

"Sakura's the owner, fox." Ryo replied angrily.

"Jeez, calm down. We just got here, okay?! What's with you? Why do you not like us? We're here to save you!" Naruto shot back. Ryo gritted his teeth and ran ahead.

"Naruto! Now look what you've done!" Sakura whined. "Just leave him to me okay?"

"Fine with me." Naruto folded his arms across his chest.

The group trooped up the road until they reached a large traditional Japanese style house. Sakura slid the wooden doors open and walked in. She spotted Ryo sitting a rock next to a fountain.

"Ryo, we're going to the dojo to train. I'm going to borrow some gi." Sakura called out. Ryo waved his hand.

"Okay, you guys follow this path all the way to the dojo while I get the gi." Sakura motioned at the stone path leading around the building.

.::.

Karin screamed as she went flying. Sakura had just kicked her in the stomach during their spar. Sighing, Sakura lowered her leg and looked at Sasuke.

"Couldn't you have picked a strong person to drag with you on your mission?" she demanded. Sasuke said nothing but glanced at Karin.

_She's right. Why did I pick Karin? She's useless! _he thought. He looked at Sakura.

"Admiring Sakura's form, Uchiha?" Neji asked, sitting down on the floor next to Sasuke.

"What style is she using?" Sasuke ignored Neji's question.

"One she created. Her moves are very smooth and seem to blend into each other." he replied absently.

Sasuke was forced to agree. Sakura's fighting style was truly a sight to see.

"When did she perfect it?" he asked.

"2 years ago or so. This stupid gang tried to get Kokuei's fur during a mission. Sakura snapped and destroyed them. Her emotions covered the last stretch to perfecting it. It felt like it was raining blood and dead bodies when she was done with them." Neji said.

Sasuke frowned. _Why would she care so much about a damn dog? _

Neji stood up and walked away, feeling that he had given Sasuke too much information about Sakura.

"Sakura! Spar with me! Now!" Ryo yelled as he ran into the dojo wearing a black gi. Sakura sighed and gestured at Ryo to come to her. Ryo smiled and walked up to her.

"Sorry Ryo. Wait till I kick Sasuke's butt." she replied, ruffling his hair. Ryo huffed and stomped out of the dojo. Sakura glanced at Sasuke. "Get off your ass and come over here so I can kick it Uchiha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but complied.

.::.

"Bwahahahahahahaha!!! Sasuke totally got owned!!!!!" Naruto howled with laughter.

"Shut the fuck up, idiot." Sasuke muttered, blushing lightly as he remembered how easily Sakura had beaten him.

"Your arm okay?" Sakura asked.

"Its fine." he replied although it actually ached like a rotten tooth. Absently he rubbed the area on it where Sakura gripped it like a vice before hitting all of the chakra points on his chest.

_It's like she has the Byakugan. How the shit did she learn all this so quickly? I wonder what other techniques she knows. Karin's not good enough. I need to get rid of her. _

"What if the Akatsuki don't show up?" Shikamaru asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?! They've already been sighted at the borders!" Naruto said.

"Doesn't necessarily mean they're going to come here. And, they were reputedly seen a few days ago and yet they haven't made their move when there weren't extra guards."

"It's a possibility." Sakura agreed. "Maybe they were going to make their move but heard that we were coming here to back up the Kumo ninja. They might have decided not to come after Ryo this time around." She shrugged. "We'll wait a couple of days and see if they come or not."

"Fine. But are we really going to just follow Ryo around for the whole time?" Neji asked.

"The annual festival is in two days. We can have some fun then. It's always pretty cool." Sakura replied.

"Festival, huh? So like, we have to wear kimonos and yakutas and stuff?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded.

"I think Takuto has some you can wear," she replied. "Don't worry about it. I'll ask him about tomorrow. Now come on, we've got catch up to Ryo!"

.::.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, what did you want to talk to me about?" Karin asked.

It was late at night now, with everyone safely tucked into bed. Sasuke decided to get rid of Karin tonight, right now.

"Karin, you've been holding me back. I should never have taken you with me after leaving Orochimaru. So I want you to leave, now. I don't want to see you again." he stated bluntly. Karin's mouth fell open, completely shocked.

"But…but…Sasuke-kun!" she cried. "I can't leave you! You need me! …. Don't you?"

"No." he replied flatly.

"Why not?!" she cried angrily. "Because of that damn pink-haired bimbo, right?!"

She shrieked when Sasuke's fist plowed into the wall behind, inches from her face.

"Shut the fuck up and get out of my sight!" he growled.

Tears started to run down Karin's face as she tried to come up with an excuse to stay with Sasuke.

"Now!!!" Sasuke shouted, without looking at Karin.

Karin sobbed loudly as she ran around Sasuke and away. She couldn't see where she was going with her hands covering her wet face and she tripped. She weakly got up and stumbled away, still crying.

Sasuke let out a quiet breath of relief as Karin's body ran out of sight. He massaged his temples, trying to relieve the pressure there.

"Thank god, she's finally gone." he thought aloud.

Sasuke smiled to himself as he walked back to his room. His headache was gone as his mind cleared and he knew what he wanted the most.

"Sakura…"


	4. The Bet

Chapter 4: The Bet

* * *

Sasuke was already thinking about how to charm Sakura as he pulled on a blue high-collared T-shirt and white pants the next morning in the room he was assigned in the Raikage's castle.

"What the hell does Sakura like? Oh shit…" he muttered. He frowned, thinking about how much time he had. "No time...guess I'll wing it and hope she goes for it."

But before he could think about it further, a knock sounded at his door.

"What?" he snarled. Naruto poked his head in.

"C'mon. The Raikage had breakfast made for us," he said. He closed the door.

Sighing, Sasuke grabbed for his weapons then remembered he didn't have any and that his chakra was still pitifully low. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stomped out of his room. He walked down the hallway assuming he was going in the right direction. He turned a corner and saw Sakura heading toward him.

_Might as well start now, _he mused.

He waited until Sakura was next to him and then swung into step with her.

"Morning," he said casually.

He glanced over when Sakura gave no reply. Her eyes were barely open so she looked like she was in a trance of some sort.

"Sakura…" he poked her lightly in the shoulder. Sakura snapped out of her trance-like state, grabbed Sasuke's finger, and twisted it sharply, almost breaking it. "Ow!!!! What the fuck?!"

Sakura started walking away without a word of apology. Sasuke angrily grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey! What the fuck was that for?!" he shouted.

"Sasuke! Be quiet!" Neji said as he jogged up to the two with Kokuei by his side. "Don't ever bother Sakura after she wakes up. She is not a morning person. Wait an hour or so after she gets up and she won't kill where you stand for just talking or touching her."

"Fine whatever." Sasuke replied, holding his injured finger. He held it up. "Will she heal this later?"

"Maybe," Neji shrugged. "Depends on if she remembers. Mornings are a blur for her."

"Just my goddamn luck," Sasuke muttered as he started walking again.

He turned into the grand dining room with its soaring ceiling, crystal chandeliers, roaring fireplaces, oak chairs, and enormous plates of delicious food. Sasuke noticed that Naruto was gobbling down the food as if it were going to be banned within the hour as he sat down next to him. Takuto was seated at the high-back, ornately carved, glossy oak chair at the head of the table slowly working his way through the meal. Neji came in the Sakura a moment later and sat next to Shikamaru on the other side of the table. Kokuei padded over the rugs on the floor to eat his food next to Akamaru near the fireplace.

"Do you all need anything?" Takuto asked, looking up from his plate.

"Yeah. I need a map for the city. And we're all going to the festival in two days so we need to borrow some kimonos and yakutas," Shikamaru said.

"Alright I'll look into it. Well I have a meeting so I'll be going now." Takuto stood up and left the room.

"Whaddaya need a map for?" Naruto asked.

"Escape routes, places to hid Ryo if we need to." Shikamaru shrugged. Naruto nodded.

"Hide me? No way in hell am I going hide! It's my life; I'm going to fight for it!" Ryo shouted from the doorway.

"No Ryo. That's our job. It's why we rushed here." Sakura said flatly.

"Good morning Sakura," Neji said. Sakura nodded to him and continued to eat. Ryo stomped over and shook Sakura's shoulder.

"How come I can't fight?" he whined.

"That's our job," Sakura replied simply. "Now let us do it." Ryo growled and stomped out of the room. Naruto looked up from his plate.

"Shouldn't we follow him?" he wondered.

"No. The castle guards will watch over him for now. If he leaves the grounds, they'll alert us," Kiba replied. Naruto nodded and dug back into his food.

"Here's the plan. We're going to take shifts watching over Ryo. First shift will be Kiba and me. Second shift will be Naruto and Neji. Third shift will be Sasuke and Sakura. And we'll continue with those pairings every day. Shifts are three hours long. We'll just keep rotating," Shikamaru announced.

_Good, I'm paired with Sakura. I've got six hours to work on her today with no interference, _Sasuke thought triumphantly. He glanced at Sakura, only to find out that she was staring at him through guarded eyes. He raised a brow.

"What?"

Sakura said nothing and returned to her food. He frowned but thought nothing of it. He quickly finished his food and returned to his room.

.::.

Sakura trudged alongside Sasuke in the streets. By glancing at her face, one would not see how deeply in thought she was.

_For four years I didn't think about him but he's suddenly here and just by spouting off some bullshit about loving me, he's made me feel all lovey-dovey about him. I KNOW he can't possibly mean everything he says but I still turn to jelly inside. Sasuke is a cold, heartless bastard. _Sakura thought with a spurt of anger. _The egotistical prick thinks he can actually kill Itachi. Which probably is still impossible. He's so fucking hell-bent on that goal he knows nothing else. _

Ah, but Sasuke is hot and probably can kill Itachi. Inner Sakura cheerily cut into Sakura's thoughts.

_Sasuke is NOT hot. Sure, he looks less feminine but his body is so horribly taken care of. He relies too much on his chakra and Sharingan. _

You can whip him back into shape once you two get together.

_Like that'll ever happen. He still hates me. _

Inner Sakura sighed. Do you really think so? He forged a strong friendship with Naruto before.

_Naruto was good practice for him. I was only an annoying gnat that wouldn't leave him alone. I was horrible weak, as he pointed out infinite times._

But now you're one of the best! He has no reason to ignore you. 

_He thinks he's strong enough; he doesn't need a sparring partner._

Inner switched tactics. Why did you work so hard to get stronger?

_Huh? Because I hated being weak and ignored. _

Ignored by whom? Inner persisted.

…

Well? Sasuke was the ONLY one who ever called you weak directly. You claim indifference, yet you trained long and hard because of his opinion! 

_But it was true! I was weak! _Sakura protested.

Remember they very last thing Sasuke said to us before he left? 'Thank You.' That means your love meant something to him! 

_Grr, stop changing the subject! And most likely, Orochimaru beat those types of thoughts out of him. _

Orochimaru is dead and those feeling were there! Think about it! There is good in Sasuke, otherwise Naruto wouldn't have spent so much time looking for him! Sasuke CAN tell the truth sometimes. Unlock your heart and remember your old dreams. Satisfied that she'd gotten the ball rolling, she left to another part of Sakura's consciousness.

_Old dreams? Haven't thought of those in about four years... _Sakura mused.

"Sakura! Hey! SAKURA!" Sasuke shouted, snapping Sakura back to reality.

"Huh? What? Ah, sorry, I was…uh…thinking," Sakura replied lamely.

"Obviously," Sasuke muttered. "Anyway, is there any place that's nice and quiet?"

"Yeah, there's a forest around that building over there." Sakura pointed and Sasuke headed for it. Resigned, Sakura followed him.

"How long have you been with Gaara?" he asked as soon as they were in the forest.

"Nearly a year. He enjoys my company." Sakura shrugged, not really sure what Sasuke wanted to know.

In bed? Sasuke nearly asked. "Hmm…I sort of expected a string of boyfriends." He said instead. Surprised, Sakura looked up at him, as he was now taller than her, as she leaned against a tree.

"Why?" she asked, watching him carefully as he twisted a flower that was blooming beautifully off its stem.

"You seem to get bored easily. And you've become quite beautiful," he said.

Absolutely stunned, Sakura stared at. _Did he just compliment me?! _She thought. She took a few quiet breaths before she trusted herself to speak coherently.

"Well, that's a quite a change in you," she managed. Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "I mean for once something you said isn't an insult and doesn't seem to hint at secrets." Sasuke nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and thought, _here goes nothing._

"I'm a better man now, Sakura," he said, taking a step toward her. _Hopefully for the better, _he added in his head. "You've changed too. In a positively good way..." he said softly, stroking a hand over her cheek.

Once again shocked by his statement, she made no move to stop him. Cupping her cheek with the same hand, Sasuke lowered his head to hers. His lips were close enough for him to feel her breath on his lips before she realized what he was about to do and shoved him away.

"What's with you all of sudden?!" she snapped, shaken. "What the hell are you trying to do?!"

Sighing, Sasuke stepped back. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Look, Sakura, I'm trying to be a better person. I haven't depended on someone or wanted to, for that matter, in too many years. I feel empty! You're the only person that's ever cared for me that way! You're the only person I want!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and she leaned back against the tree. "Really? Or are you just spewing that bullshit at me because you remembered you still need a woman to carry out the revival of the Uchiha clan?"

"No!" Sasuke hastily cried. He ran his hands through his hair and struggled to say the right thing. "Sakura, I realized after I joined Orochimaru that the Uchihas were usually corrupt and evil! I don't want to revive a clan that's so destructive. I need you, not your abilities, your rank, or anything like that! Please, believe me!"

"Why should I?" she shot back coldly. "I'll make this clear; the day I get into your bed is the day they're making snowmen in hell!"

Sasuke didn't know what pushed him to do it, his ego or desire. But he stepped toward her and leaned down close until their faces were close and their eyes locked onto each other. "Wanna bet?"

Suddenly dizzy with how close he was, Sakura barely heard him. "What?" she whispered.

"I said…" Sasuke dropped his gaze to her mouth, lingered there, and then slowly moved back up to look directly into her eyes. "Wanna bet?"

Sakura swallowed nervously and tried to tape down the excitement that rippled through her. "I told you. I won't sleep with someone I can barely tolerate outside the bedroom." She said calmly, angling her chin to look defiantly into his eyes.

Sasuke flashed a grin. "We'll see..." he said softly and ran his finger over her lips before sauntering away.

Sakura's breath exploded out from her mouth as she watched Sasuke leave. Licking her lips, she felt grateful she hadn't taken him up on that bet.


	5. Drinker's High

Chapter 5: Drunken Festivities

* * *

"You look as beautiful as always, Sakura." Takuto said. Sakura's lips curved.

"Thanks, for the third time." She turned away from the mirror and fingered the collar of his yakuta. "You look nice too."

"Yeah, I know," he grinned. "Where are your friends?"

"The living room probably," she answered. He nodded and exited his private chambers.

"Whoa! Sakura-chan! You look beautiful!" Naruto exclaimed when they stepped into the living room.

"You clean up pretty well yourself," she replied. Naruto grinned and patted his black yakuta.

"I really wish this was orange and black though," he laughed. "Hey Sasuke, about time you came outta your room."

Sakura turned to see Sasuke staring at her. She ignored that and examined his outfit. His yakuta was the same style as Naruto's except his top was dark blue and his pants were black. Sakura bit back a sigh as she saw his chest like she expected it to be, pudgy and unappealing. She turned away and walked to Kokuei, who was playing with Akamaru by the fire.

Sasuke, on the other hand, couldn't speak. He found Sakura incredibly attractive after six years apart, and had thought she could be any more beautiful. But he was wrong.

Her kimono was silky white with light pink cherry blossoms flowing on the bottom up the center then over the left shoulder. Her obi had the same cherry blossom pattern. Her hair was pinned up in a bun with two brown chopsticks holding it together. She'd put a bit of makeup on too, Sasuke noted. Her lips were a glossy pink and her eyes seemed a brighter, more vibrant green.

He swallowed, hard, when Sakura laughed as she rubbed Kokuei's belly. _Damn, this is gonna be hard. _

"Okay you're all here so let's go out! I have to do some mingling with my people. Sakura's been through a few of these so she'll show you around." Takuto clapped his hands for attention. "This is gonna be fun!"

"Why're you so hyper tonight?" Sakura wondered.

"Does it matter?" Takuto laughed and ran away. Sakura sighed and led the others outside into the festival.

"Whoa! This thing is huge!!!" Naruto exclaimed, turning in a circle to see all the people, stands, and of course, the food.

"It goes through most of the village. The main street has the most stands so there are more people so be careful there. And keep your eye out for the Akatsuki...NARUTO!!!!" Sakura yelled but Naruto had already disappeared in the throng of people. She turned to the rest of the group. "Let's keep our rotation. Neji, since Naruto's your partner, you should go hunt him down."

_I have another six hours. Note to self, be nice and romantic. _Sasuke reminded himself. He stepped closer to Sakura as she talked briefly to Shikamaru, who nodded and walked away with Kiba. Neji left to find Naruto.

"So," Sasuke cleared his throat, "what kind of, uh, games do they have?"

Sakura glanced at him. "Why do you care?"

"What the hell are you so mad at me for?" he demanded.

"What do you think, traitor?" she shot back, determined not to let her guard down around him anymore.

"Goddamn it! I had to! Konoha wasn't helping me get stronger at all!"

"Oh so I guess the Chidori was nothing to you."

Sasuke scowled. "You just don't understand!"

"I understand more than you think." Sakura replied softly, looking away.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." She lied.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sakura, the reason I came back was--"

"To find information about Itachi." Sakura interrupted.

"No! Well, not completely! Will you just listen to me?!"

"I listened to your shit when we were thirteen. And look where it got me! On a cold, hard bench in the middle of the frickin' night!" Sakura nearly screamed. Seeing the people glancing their way, Sasuke grabbed her hand and led her back into the forest they were in yesterday.

_Why is she suddenly so mad at me? She was nicer yesterday! Did the stupid bet thing piss her off?_ Sasuke thought annoyed.

"I wasn't lying yesterday," he said calmly. "I only want you. I only love you."

"You don't even understand the word, how can you know when you feel it? You think that just saying it would make me fall for you again?! You're so fucking curious about what I did the past six years? Well I'll tell you what I did the first two years. I waited for you to come back! And you know what? It hurt! It hurt way too much and I realized something, you weren't coming back and I could stop waiting for you! So I did! I don't care anymore! I DON'T CARE!!!!" Sakura screamed. She paused and took a deep breath and continued calmly. "A friend of mine told me it takes a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Especially someone that you love so terribly much. But you know what? I only took me six months to forget about you. Now, I only regret that I didn't mean as much to you as you meant to me." Saying this, she turned and walked back to the festival.

Sakura's words ran over and over in Sasuke's head even after she left. He slowly sat down on the floor and stared at his hands. He clenched them into fists but didn't punch the ground. His ingrained Uchiha pride made him swallow the tears in his throat.

"Sakura... I didn't know...I didn't realize...." he whispered, remembering the pained tears in her eyes as she'd screamed at him. He flashed back to the many, many times she'd said she loved him and would stay with him when they were thirteen, especially when he'd been leaving the village and had run into her and the tears running down her face. "I didn't know I really meant that much to you." He held his head in his hands.

"Nothing you do will make up for the pain you caused her all those years." A voice said behind him. Sasuke whipped around and saw Neji standing with Kokuei. Neji stepped closer. "You know that's the first time I've seen her shed tears, or come close to, in a very long time. She used to cry all the time when suddenly she just stopped. When we became teammates I asked her why and she said 'I'm trying hard not to cry over him because every tear is just one more reminder that I don't know how to let him go.'" Sasuke lowered his head as Neji paused. "She struggled a lot after you left since Naruto left soon after you did. She trained hard and walked away from every comment or question about you. She refused to go on any of the search missions for you. I guess the only place you existed in her life was in the past. Unfortunately for her, there's no special jutsu or medicine that lets you forget your past. But I swear, if you hurt her again, I will kill you." Neji and Kokuei left.

"Only in the past? Well Sakura, I'm here now and I believe that your past feelings still exist in your heart. You can't close me out. You can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to the things you don't want to feel." Sasuke said, reciting a piece of advice his mother had told him. He shot to his feet, suddenly overcome with determination to get Sakura to remember.

.::.

"And thank you all for another wonderful Festival of Serenity! I love you all!" Takuto shouted to the crowd of people. They cheered wildly as he toasted them. The Festival was ending soon and the group was seated at a bar. They were all somewhat drunk, except for Sakura, who was steadily working her way to full-out drunk.

"Hey, has Sakura always been able to hold her sake so well?" Sasuke whispered to Naruto. Naruto laughed drunkenly.

"Of course! With Tsunade as her mentor, she always has to deal with sake! Sake Sakura! Weeeeeee! I love life!!!!!!" he shouted. Sasuke shook his head and looked back at Sakura. Thoughtfully, he tapped his cup. The bartender obligingly filled it again.

"I've gotta close now, guys. Sorry, but I've got a lot of clean up to do." The man said after Sasuke drained his cup.

"Ah yes. Very well, I'll head back now." Neji said. He left, dragged Naruto with him.

"I'll take Kiba and the dogs and check up on Ryo on last time." Shikamaru left with the three.

"Okay. Come on Sakura, time to go." Sasuke put Sakura's arm around his shoulder and slowly walked her out. They made their way through the thinning crowd to the castle and to Sakura's room on the highest floor, which she had all to herself. Sasuke picked her up and gently laid her on the bed and was about to rise when Sakura tugged him back down. He collapsed on top of her and blushed slightly when his head ended up between her breasts.

"Don't go..." Sakura mumbled, sliding down so her head was on his chest. She snuggled close, wrapping her arms around him. Startled, Sasuke looked down at her face. He blushed harder when he felt his pants tighten slightly.

"Uh...Sakura...aw man...you're gonna kill me for this tomorrow..." he mumbled.

He rolled on top of her then reached behind his back and grabbed her hands. He lifted them and place d them above her hand, holding them together with his own. Sasuke let out a breath, knowing he should stop but couldn't. He crushed his mouth to hers, slipping his tongue between her lips. Sakura moaned as their tongues tangled. Sasuke ran one had down her body and reached behind her to undo her obi. It loosened and he tossed it off the bed.

He tore his mouth from hers and moved his lips down her neck, parting her kimono with his hands. Her bra and panties were tart red but Sasuke didn't really care, just happy that her bra had affront hook. He flicked it apart with one finger and cupped her breast, flicking her nipple with his thumb. Sakura moaned deliriously and struggled to get her hands free. Sasuke replaced his hands with his mouth and Sakura arched against him. He groaned as she rubbed against his erect crotch. He let go of her hands so he could taste her more. Sakura immediately rolled on top of him and ripped off his yakuta. Likewise, Sasuke removed hers.

"Sasuke..." Sakura moaned as their mouths tangled again. She ran her hands all over his body as Sasuke ripped off her panties. Sasuke slipped a finger inside her as she bit his shoulder. Sasuke shuddered as he felt the wild heat inside her. Her hips pumped against his bust hand then went lax as she came. The orgasm whipped through her, clearing up some of the drunkenness.

Sasuke stopped for a moment and stared into her eyes, heavy with passion, as they both breathed hard. "Sakura...I really do love you. I'll show you I do." He whispered.

He lifted her hips and drove himself into her. She cried out and arched. Sasuke gripped her hands harder with each thrust until they came within a heart of each other. They moaned together and Sasuke collapsed on top of her, feeling he had just climbed a mountain.

Still shuddering from the climax he rolled so she was on top of him. He groped for the blanket then draped it over both of them before falling into a blissful sleep.


	6. Because of You

Chapter 6: Because Of You

* * *

Sakura groaned quietly as she woke with an intense headache. _Drank way too much, _she thought weakly. She sat up and massaged her temples and pushed small amounts of chakra into her aching head to erase the pain. The headache quickly disappeared.

Sakura froze when she realized she was naked. _I never sleep naked...what the hell? _She slowly shifted to see what or who else was in her bed. She screamed when she saw Sasuke and fell off the bed.

Sasuke winced and opened his eyes at the piercing yell. Sakura quickly stood up, clutching the duvet to her breasts.

"You...You...You... fucking SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!" Sakura screamed at Sasuke. He froze when he saw Sakura.

"Sakura...I... I can explain..." he said quickly. He reached out to touch her shoulder but she cringed away.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped. She pulled the duvet more tightly around herself. Sasuke held up his hands in the air and spoke slowly.

"Sakura, last night, that is, I... I mean we, were drunk. I was just helping you up to your room and well..." he trailed off.

"Don't try to lie your way out of this! I know you barely drank any sake!" she shouted back.

"Damn it Sakura! I want you! What else am I supposed to do to show you?!"

"Oh yeah like taking advantage of me is an expression of love," she muttered. She stood up and strode into the bathroom, slamming it shut and locking it.

Sasuke sighed and looked around for his clothes. He glanced back at the bathroom door when he heard the water turn on._ Now she's more pissed than ever. Back to square one. _He thought and left the room.

.::.

Later, the group was walking in the streets, heading for Ryo's dojo.

"Three days and no Akatsuki. And I really wanted to fight them..." Naruto grumbled.

"They might be waiting for the other Akatsuki members to show up." Shikamaru mused.

"If they are, and they attack, it's gonna be a pain in the ass." Sakura replied. Shikamaru nodded. Suddenly, Kokuei stopped and growled, his whole body vibrating.

"What the..." Sakura started and bent down to calm the wolf-dog.

"What's up Sakura?" Kiba asked then noticed Akamaru was acting similar. "What's wrong boy?"

"Neji! Check the area. We're not going to get caught in some stupid trap." Sakura commanded. He nodded and activated his Byakugan. Neji closed his eyes and widened his vision. After a beat he lowered his hands.

"Well Naruto, looks like the fight you wanted is about to start." Neji said.

"How many?" Sakura asked.

"Four." Neji confirmed.

"Ah shit. I'm guessing Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Tobi." Shikamaru said. Neji shrugged.

"I don't know what their chakra signature is. But one of them is enormous," he replied.

"So what are we going to do?" Ryo asked, edging closer to Sakura. Everyone looked to Sakura.

"We fight and kick their ass." Sakura said simply. Naruto grinned. "They're heading this way anyway. Let them come to us. Everyone get ready. Ryo, stick with me." Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out a small black bead and fed it to Kokuei.

"What was that?" Ryo asked curiously. POOF! Kokuei transformed. The smoke disappeared and Kokuei was a human with a collar around his neck.

"Whoa. How'd that happen?!" Naruto asked, glancing quickly at the wolf-dog-human.

"Special pill. You okay, Ko?" Sakura answered. (Ko is Kokuei's human nickname)

"Fine, Sakura-sama." Ko answered He stood up and brushed off his black pants and white unbuttoned shirt. "What would you like me to do?"

"Just keep an eye on Ryo." She replied. Sakura turned to the group. "Anyone got a specific target.

"Itachi..." Sasuke mumbled, not looking away from the direction his hated older brother was.

"We know," Sakura said testily. "And you're looking in the wrong fucking direction."

A laugh was heard behind them, in the direction Sakura and Ko were facing.

"Girl's right. I thought Itachi's little brother woulda had some brains." Kisame grinned toothily.

"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted, whirling around and glaring hatefully at Itachi.

"Let's get this over with, un." Deidara said and reached into his side bag for explosive clay. The Konoha ninja were ready to fight them but waited for Sakura's signal, she was their leader after all.

Sakura said nothing but charged at Kisame, jumping over the swing of his sword and kicked him in the face. Taking this as a go, the other ninja charged. Naruto and Neji went after Deidara. Sasuke, even though he barely had any chakra, charged at Itachi. Kiba and Shikamaru went after the fourth Akatsuki member present, Tobi.

Kisame jerked back at the swift kick to his face and switched grips on his sword to take another swing at Sakura. She dodged again and grabbed his Akatsuki cloak, and using her chakra flung him into the forest. She landed lightly on the ground and went in after him.

Sasuke stole a quick glance at her as she disappeared into the forest. _Be care- _The thought was broken as Itachi slammed his leg into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke hacked and coughed up blood. Sasuke wiped away the blood and charged at Itachi again but Itachi caught his fist in his hand. He pushed it back, forcing Sasuke to his knees.

"Still so weak," Itachi said monotonously. Sasuke gritted his teeth and struggled to break free. He winced as Itachi tightened his grip and chuckled at Sasuke's weakness.

"Shut up!" Sasuke spat at him. "You're going to die today; I live to kill you!!!" He threw all his weight against his hand and tried to tackle Itachi. Itachi let go and quickly sidestepped out of the way. Sasuke opened his mouth to curse but the breath was knocked out of him when Itachi swiftly slammed his foot into his back, slapping him against the ground.

"Gah!" Sasuke cried out and coughed up blood. He pushed off the ground but Itachi's foot pushed harder against him.

"Live to kill me? You never change. You slimy piece of shit." Itachi sneered at him.

"What... what the hell?" Sasuke sputtered at his brother's feminine voice. Abruptly, the scenery changed into the forest and Itachi disappeared.

_A genjutsu...? _Sasuke wondered as he slowly stood up. He whirled around when he heard footsteps. He gaped as he watched Sakura walk away from him, Kokuei at her heels.

"Wait, Sakura!! Did you cast that genjutsu?!" he shouted but was ignored. He went after her but she disappeared. Sasuke swore and sat at the base of the nearest tree.

_That was probably payback for this morning or last night. Damn it, I can't help but seethe with rage every time I see Itachi. What the hell am I going to do? She's never going to trust me, let alone love me. _Sasuke sighed and leaned his head against the tree, closing his eyes.

"What're you doing all the way over here?" a voice asked. Sasuke opened his eyes and saw Naruto standing a few feet away, a confused look on his face.

"You're supposed to stay with Sakura-chan, no matter what she does to hurt you. Especially since you deserve most of it," Naruto added.

"Yeah, I guess..." he mumbled. "But it still hurts." Naruto looked at Sasuke curiously as he sat down across from him, mimicking his posture.

"Why do you want her?" Naruto asked softly.

"She is the only one who loves me in this world." Sasuke shrugged. "It's what I believe anyway."

"I believe that too. But I think she's mad at herself for loving you." Naruto said. Sasuke looked up sharply.

"Why would she think that?" he asked.

"Well let's face it. Ever since we were kids, all you've known is the need to kill Itachi. Besides that, you know nothing. What are you going to do after Itachi is dead, IF you manage to do that? You don't have any other goals or dreams or hopes. Revenge is meaningless. It's temporary. You'll be nothing if and when Itachi is dead because you don't know anything else. It's all that drives you. You're just an empty shell of the person you were." Naruto replied. "What else do you want out of life, Sasuke? Or are you just going to find another revenge to seek?

"It's pitiful really," Naruto continued. "Sakura knows this and believes it. Your only other goal is to revive your clan. And you need a woman to do that. And your Uchiha pride won't let you choose some random girl off the street. So it's natural to turn to the girl you're most familiar with."

"But I don't think of Sakura only that way!" Sasuke protested. Naruto held up a finger.

"There's also the possibility of you dying while killing Itachi. If Sakura opened herself up again just to see you die, she'd break. Again. Of course the chances of her opening up are slim to none. Empty promises won't sway her. You've got to mean it. Be like me. I don't back down on my word, it's my nindo, my ninja way. I'm also different from you because I've made friendships and loyalties to people while I strive to become Hokage. I'm not alone. Not anymore."

Sasuke sat silently, absorbing Naruto's oh-so-rare wise words. They rang true and partly explained why Sakura had been so pissed once he'd started his 'courting'.

"If you really think you love Sakura, I suggest starting from the beginning. Forget everything you think you know about Sakura. Learn everything again. It's what I did with Hinata. I ignored the previous thoughts I had about her and noticed everything all over again. I learned a lot of stuff. It shouldn't be hard for you because Sakura's changed dramatically. Some things are more noticeable than others." Naruto stood up and dusted off his pants. "This mission is a good time to do so since Itachi is after Ryo. Oh but don't forget Neji and I will be watching. You hurt her, you're gonna burn." He left.

"Idiot's got something smart to say for once." Sasuke mused. "Ah what the hell. My way screwed up, his way might work. Gaara isn't here to interfere, thus Sakura's heart will be mine, no matter how long it takes."


	7. Delight and Angers

Chapter 7: Delight and Angers

* * *

The next day, Sasuke was looking in every store, searching for Sakura, who'd left immediately after breakfast. He finally spotted her in a small café, talking with another man. His eyes narrowed as the man brushed his hand over Sakura's hair. He walked into the café and headed straight for the two.

"Hello," he said icily to the man next to Sakura. The man shifted in his seat and faced him.

"Sakura, who is this young man," he asked.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura replied coolly, taking a sip from her drink. She glared at Sasuke when he pulled a chair over and sat next to her.

"Oh, an Uchiha." The man looked at Sasuke again and nodded slowly. "Yes, I see the usual Uchiha arrogance in him. So what are you doing with such an ungrateful companion?"

"What the hell did you just say?" Sasuke said menacingly despite agreeing with the description of his clan.

"I believe I was asking Sakura a question, not you." The man replied.

"The Hokage ordered me to watch over him. He betrayed the village, if you remember, Hatori." Sakura said.

"Oh yes! Right after The Third was killed..." Hatori mused. "Interesting. Well I should be off now, places to go, people to see. See you later Sakura." Hatori stood up and brushed a kiss over Sakura's cheek then left the café.

"Who is he?" Sasuke asked but Sakura was already leaving. "Hey, wait, Sakura!" Sasuke quickly went after her. He fell into step with her but decided not to say anything.

_Naruto said start over. I'll give it a shot._ Sasuke looked at Sakura and slowly examined her.

Sakura still retained her slim frame although Sasuke was sure she had firm muscles under her delicate skin. Her sleek pink hair just brushed her shoulders and was parted in the middle. Her emerald eyes appeared to change different shades of green, depending on her emotions. She wore a red T-shirt with the white circle of the Harunos on the back and white shorts. Her shuriken holster was strapped to her right leg but her kunai pouch was not on her. Her sandals were black with heels about two inches high. Although she was Anbu rank, she wasn't wearing her cat mask or cloak. She wasn't wearing a hitai-ate either. Sasuke glanced down and noticed the six-inch gash she'd gotten on her last mission was gone. He looked behind them and noticed that Kokuei was following them.

_In the genjutsu, Kokuei transformed into a human. I wonder if it can actually do it._ Sasuke thought. He faced forward but stopped when he saw Sakura had entered a small jewelry store. He followed her inside and stood behind her, casually glancing at the bracelets in the glass showcase as an old man waited on Sakura.

"With your beauty any of these amethyst or emerald necklaces will complement you well." The old man beamed at Sakura, gesturing to the left side of the glass showcase, where the necklaces were laid out. Sasuke didn't know shit about jewelry but agreed with the man. Seeing Sakura eyeing an emerald necklace, the old man eagerly took it out of the case and gently laid it on top.

"It's lovely," Sakura murmured, but gestured for the man to put it back. The old man sighed and was about to put it back when Sasuke stepped forward.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to buy it." He said quickly.

"Why, yes, of course!" The old man named a price. Sasuke winced but pulled out the right amount. He took the necklace without a case and looked at Sakura. "Turn around...please?"

Sakura merely stared at him. Sighing, Sasuke stood behind her and put the necklace on her, taking his time to pull her hair out of the way. Her grabbed her hand and led her back outside after thanking the old man. They started walking for a bit; Sakura leaving her hand in Sasuke's and fingering her new necklace, while Sasuke was struggling to think of something to say.

"Why'd you buy this for me?" Sakura asked softly. Sasuke stopped walking and looked back at her.

"Well, I guess, as a apology for last night." He replied, scratching his head a little. Sakura nodded and looked away.

_She seems calmer... God, I can't forget about the past! She needs to understand. _Sasuke thought.

"Sakura, can we talk...I mean seriously?" Sasuke asked quietly. "We still have time before our shift starts."

Sakura studied him for a moment. _What's he up to? _Sakura wondered. She touched her fingers to the necklace again. _Shit. Is he trying to be, oh dear God, romantic? I'm screwed if he does that. But he looks kinda cute when he tries to be serious..._

Ha! See! You DO like him! Inner cried cheerfully.

_Gah! Where'd you come from??_

Oh, I smacked the author around until she agreed to put me in the story again. I only had ONE appearance in chapter FOUR. Can you believe that?! But that was a really interesting chapter. I wonder if he remembers the bet.

_I really don't want to think about it. I don't give a damn. He freaking took advantage of me. _

Took advantage of you? I recall someone was willing. Sex isn't one-sided, you know.

_Rape is._

Oh, jeez, that was so not rape. You know what rape is.

_Okay, okay, fine. So it wasn't rape. But it still pisses me off._

Anyway, have you thought about your old dreams yet?

_... I don't remember them. _

You don't want to. Jeez, forget this. Maybe Sasuke will stir you up like in chapter four. I'm out for now. See ya.

_...?_

"Where have you gone?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Huh?" Sakura said caught off guard behind his quiet voice, far too used to his harsh, straightforward manner. _Why _is_ he speaking so quietly? ... I kinda like it though. _Curious, Sasuke stepped forward, leaning down so they were at eye level. Surprised, he watched her turn a light shade of pink.

"Can we talk?" he asked again.

"Uh...yeah, sure..." Sakura replied. _Jeez, one conversation with Inner and I turn all girly. I freaking blushed! _She sat down on a nearby bench. Sasuke sat down next to her.

"I really am sorry about last night." Sasuke said. Sakura nodded but he wasn't looking at her. "I really did mean what I said a few days ago. Before I started talking about the stupid bet thing." He added when Sakura looked up at him sharply. _And I was just thinking about it too..._ Sakura thought. _Weird._

"So... I wanted to tell what happened after I left Konoha." Sasuke continued. "Well, I guess I should start from the beginning, back when my clan was still alive. In my immediate family, there was my father, Fugaku, my mother, Mikoto, Itachi, and me. My father was the head of the clan so Itachi was the heir. So naturally all the attention was on him. And it certainly didn't hurt that he was so incredibly strong. But even so, Father only paid attention to him. It was always him, never me!

"Even he did talk to me it was something along the lines of 'train hard like your brother.' But something in Itachi changed." Sasuke paused, thinking of the time when Itachi had attacked three other clan members when they had demanded to know why he hadn't attended some clan meeting. "Father started to talk to me, and he even taught me the fireball jutsu. I thought everything was going to be fine until that night." Sasuke sighed. "He said he killed the clan to test his abilities. He told me about the Mangekyou Sharingan and how killing your best friend would activate it."

"I know the rest." Sakura replied flatly. She sighed and decided to cut him a break. _It's not everyday Uchiha Sasuke acts human. _"You know Sasuke, you're an idiot."

"What?!"

Sakura shook her head and laughed softly, kicking out her legs. "You didn't trust anyone after Itachi. I think you miss a lot more by not trusting people than you risk by trusting."

"And what happens when the trust is broken?" Sasuke asked.

"Then you pick up the pieces and move on. And occasionally punch the traitor's face." Sakura flashed a grin. "You're only a victim if you choose to be. Yes, the trust you had toward your brother ended up a raw deal but you didn't have to stay that way." She paused and decided to give Sasuke a nudge toward the truth.

"And it's odd, you thought your brother was really great but he ended up betraying you. He told you everything was a façade by his actions that night. And yet you never thought that even then he was lying to you that night. And maybe he was lying to you because he was protecting you. The Uchihas are, or were, an arrogant clan and extremely power hungry. Perhaps Itachi wanted to save you from that."

"That's....that's impossible! If that' true then why didn't he just say so?" Sasuke cried. He suddenly remembered a part of that night he'd forgotten.

_I didn't faint after he threw a shuriken at me. I did run away in fear but then he caught me outside... That's when he told me about the Mangekyou and then he turned to leave. That's right! He didn't use the Mangekyou on me then! I grabbed a few kunai embedded in the ground and chased after him. We went over the rooftops and I threw one at him. It hit him in the head and his hitai-ate came off. He stopped to pick it up and he tied it lopsided on his head... And he looked back at me...and he was crying! _(That actually does happen, sorry if you didn't know.)

"Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he was being watched that night." Sakura replied. She felt an itch between her shoulder blades and she turned her head to see Kokuei staring at her. He curled his lip, showing his sharp, white teeth. _Shit, I'm going to be punished for this._

"I still don't really believe it." Sasuke muttered. Sakura shrugged and didn't push it. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"True power lies within the blood of your people's revenge. The devil's fruit can lead me there." Sasuke said, his voice going quiet again. "That's what I started to believe after we met Orochimaru. But I promised to not sell myself to the darkness, like I believed Itachi did. I guess I didn't follow through on that promise very well." Sasuke looked at Sakura now. "But I want to. I want to bathe in the bright and shining light. With you." (A/N: Does that sound corny to you? It does to me.)

"I'm not as clean as you think I am." Sakura replied, looking away. Sasuke's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to continue but Kokuei growled. She winced and closed her mouth.

"What's with him?" Sasuke frowned.

"Nothing." Sakura stood up. "Let's go find Ryo."

"It's not our shift yet." Sasuke complained but Sakura started walking away. He stood up and quickly caught up to her.

"So...you still mad at me?" he asked. Sakura stopped and looked at him for a bit.

"Not really," she said finally. "Since you finally talked about yourself for once." Sasuke nodded, feeling immensely relieved.

"So do you trust me then?"

Sakura laughed. "Hell no. You're still focused on Itachi."

Sasuke groaned and tugged on her sleeve. "Does that mean I can't be an ass?"

"Or you could just shut up for the rest of your life." Sakura suggested hotly. She paused then laughed again. "I don't think we'll ever have a conversation that won't go nuclear."

Sasuke grinned. "Well when you've got the skills..."

"Oh yeah, like it's so much easier to be an ass." A voice joked behind them. They jolted and turned around. Naruto stood there grinning, extremely happy that Sasuke had reconciled with Sakura.

"What do you want, dope?" Sasuke asked, annoyed that his alone time with Sakura had ended.

"I just wanted to-whoa!!! Wh-what's going oooon?" Naruto shouted when the ground started to shake violently. Sasuke grabbed Sakura to help keep her steady.

"The village could be being attacked! We have to find Ryo!" Sakura shouted.

"Right!" Sasuke and Naruto said together and they sped off to the dojo.

When they arrived there, they saw Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji standing in a circle around Ryo. The Akatsuki surrounded them. Sakura swore softly when she recognized Itachi, Kisame, Deidara and Tobi. (A/N: Sasori is already dead, by the way.) She felt the rigidness in Sasuke's stance since his arm was still around her.

"Sakura, restore my chakra now." He said tightly.

"No." Sakura said flatly. He glared at her. She sighed. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way. I have a mission to complete." So saying, she shrugged off his arm and charged at Kisame. She jumped over the swing of his sword and kicked him in the face. Taking this as a go, the other ninja charged. Naruto and Neji went after Deidara. Sasuke, even though he barely had any chakra, charged at Itachi. Kiba and Shikamaru went after the fourth Akatsuki member present, Tobi.

Kisame jerked back at the swift kick to his face and switched grips on his sword to take another swing at Sakura. She dodged again and grabbed his Akatsuki cloak, using her chakra flung him into the forest. She landed lightly on the ground and went in after him. Shikamaru swore when she disappeared from sight. He turned to Ryo.

"Find a place to hide! Now! Go!" he ordered. Ryo, shaking slightly, nodded and rushed inside the dojo.

"Oh no you don't, hmm!" Deidara said and tossed some of his clay spiders toward Ryo. Before they could land on Ryo, however, they were covered in sand and exploded inside.

"What the hell, hmm?!" Deidara yelled and whirled around to see Gaara in his fighting clothes.

"Payback time." Gaara said and summoned more sand and threw it toward Deidara.

"Yeah! Gaara! Let's kick there guys asses!" Naruto shouted. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A hundred clones appeared and charged at Deidara. But the Akatsuki member summoned his clay bird and jumped on it, flying high.

"Hyuuga, Naruto, get on!" Gaara barked as he jumped on a platform of sand. The two went on and went up after Deidara.

Back on the ground, Shikamaru tried to snare Tobi in his shadow possession jutsu while Kiba slammed into him with his Fang over Fang technique.

"Ow o wow! That hurt poor Tobi!" Tobi yelled as he crashed into the ground. Shikamaru quickly sent his shadow to Tobi's.

"Hey! What did you do to Tobi?!" he cried when Shikamaru's possession made him stand up. "I can't move on my own! Why not?!"

"It's my shadow possession jutsu. You have to do whatever I do." Shikamaru explained.

"That's no fun." Tobi pouted behind his mask.

"It is for me!" Kiba shouted and punched Tobi in the face.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was getting his ass kicked by Itachi. Itachi slammed his leg into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke hacked and coughed up blood. Sasuke wiped away the blood and charged at Itachi again but Itachi caught his fist in his hand. He pushed it back, forcing Sasuke to his knees. He threw all his weight against his hand and tried to tackle Itachi. Itachi let go and quickly sidestepped out of the way. Sasuke opened his mouth to curse but the breath was knocked out of him when Itachi swiftly slammed his foot into his back, slapping him against the ground.

_Hey what the hell? This is exactly like what happened in the genjutsu...How is that possible? _Sasuke thought suddenly.

"Why are you so weak?" Itachi asked, pressing his foot harder against Sasuke's back.

"Shut up. Just shut up for once." Sasuke growled. "You don't know anything about me."

Itachi chuckled.

"On the contrary, I know everything there is to know about you, dear brother. All thanks to your old teammate. She's been a great help to the Akatsuki for years." He mused.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Sasuke shouted. Itachi shook his head and lifted his foot. He turned and jumped into the forest where Kisame and Sakura were.

"Asshole..." Sasuke muttered and he stumbled to his feet. He followed Itachi as quickly as he could without so much as glancing at the others.

Up in the sky, Gaara struggled to maneuver around Deidara's clay bombs.

"You'll never beat me, hmm!" Deidara yelled gleefully. He used Kage Bunshin no jutsu.

"Byakugan!" Neji called out as the veins around his eyes popped out against his skin. "The one on the left is the real one!"

"Okay! Gaara get as close as you can and I'll hit him with my Rasengan!" Naruto said. Gaara nodded and swung to the left.

"Rawwwwwwwwwwrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Naruto howled as his fox chakra boosted the power of his Rasengan and helped him hit Deidara full on. Deidara screamed and his body exploded.

"What?!" Naruto growled, the fox chakra altering his facial features along with his voice. Deidara's hand shot out from inside the bird. Inside the bird, Deidara did a few quick hand signs. Naruto leaned down and grabbed Deidara's hand, twisting it painfully.

"Gaah!" Deidara yelped and jumped out of the bird. He grunted as Neji's fingers plowed into his back. He started to fall but Gaara caught him with his sand, then enveloped him in it.

"Sand coffin!" Gaara cried, or as loud as his voice ever got. Blood leaked in between the sand particles.

"Is he dead?" Naruto asked.

"No, not yet." Neji murmured, his Byakugan still active.

"How?" Gaara demanded.

"I'm right here, hmm." A voice said behind them. They whirled around to see Deidara, his Akatsuki cloak gone and his arm bleeding, on a newly made clay bird. Deidara smirked and swooped down to the ground.

"Get back here!" Naruto shouted and jumped off the sand platform to free fall down.

"Naruto!" Neji shouted. Gaara commanded his sand to rush down after the two.

Back on the ground, Kiba and Shikamaru had just knocked Tobi out and tied him up.

"Let's go find Sakura and Sasuke. They will need help taking down Itachi and Kisame." Shikamaru said.

Kiba nodded and he dragged Tobi's body behind him and jumped into the forest.

"C'mon! Is that the best you can do, hmm?!" Deidara shouted then laughed as Naruto slammed into the ground.

"Shut up!!!!" Naruto yelled, somehow emerging unscathed from his hard contact with the ground. Deidara chuckled and flew into the forest.

"Goddamn it, stay put!!" Naruto shouted. Neji and Gaara landed behind him. "They're all in the forest! Let's go!" The three went in.

Sasuke stumbled into a small clearing. He gasped (in a manly way) when he saw Ryo lying unconscious next to Sakura, who was standing in front of Itachi and Kisame, her head bowed so her bangs covered her eyes. Kokuei stood on all fours at Itachi's feet.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called out but she didn't move. Confused, Sasuke lurched forward but winced and fell to his knees in pain. Kiba and Shikamaru burst in behind him, Tobi hanging limp between them.

"What's going on?" Kiba wanted to know.

"I don't know." Sasuke whispered, gritting his teeth against the pain. His eyes remained riveted on Sakura, who still hadn't moved. The tension in the clearing rose even higher when Naruto, Neji and Gaara rushed into the clearing just behind Deidara. Deidara flew between Kiba and Shikamaru, grabbing Tobi on the way. He jumped off his bird with Tobi over his shoulder next to Itachi and Kisame. He noticed Ryo on the ground.

"Mission accomplished. Let's go, hmm." Deidara said.

"How did Ryo get there?!" Naruto demanded.

"I don't know." Sasuke repeated. Kisame laughed.

"What do you think? She brought him to us." Kisame said, pointing at Sakura. The Konoha ninja and Gaara gasped.

"Sakura?! Why?!" they yelled together.

"Well she's one of us, duh. Or did you not know that, hmm?" Deidara grinned at the shocked and pained faces he saw.

"No fucking way!!" Naruto yelled and prepared to charge.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered painfully as she lifted her head. Naruto stopped.

"Sakura-chan....no way..." Naruto's eyes filled with tears. _First Sasuke, now Sakura._

"You fools! You had no idea that we've brought her to our side!" Kisame laughed.

"WHY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Naruto and Sasuke screamed together.

Sakura looked away ashamed. She had no choice, damn it, she never did. She flinched but didn't look up when she heard a sickening cracking. Itachi had had just appeared in front of Naruto and delivered a paralyzing kick to him, effectively knocking him out along with breaking several of his ribs. He grabbed his limp body and flung him over his shoulder while Kisame did the same to Ryo, minus the kick.

"Let's go." Itachi said firmly.

"Wait!" Kiba said but stopped in fear when Itachi glared at him. He gulped and hunched his shoulders slightly. Akamaru whimpered.

Grinning, Deidara turned and jumped on his bird and flew away into the distance. Kisame, Itachi and Kokuei quickly followed. Sakura turned to follow.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called out. She paused and shook her head slightly.

"No..." Sasuke whispered when she jumped off. "Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sasuke felt his world crumble and fall to pieces, leaving him in the pitch black darkness, for the second time in his life.


	8. Condemned

Chapter 8: Condemned

* * *

Despair. Shock. Anger. Fear. Denial. Devastation. All these emotions and more swirled through the high tower office. The shinobi had slowly trudged back home, numb with shock. They barely spoke a word to each other, let alone any of the other shinobi and villagers in Konohagakure.

Tsunade sat unmoving in her chair even after Shikamaru had finished filling her in on what had occurred during the failed mission.

"I'm going to go find her." Sasuke said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I want my chakra back to normal." He gritted his teeth when no one reacted.

"You can't possibly go alone. You're no match for them all together." A weary male voice said. Sasuke turned his head to the speaker. It was Kakashi, slouching in the window. "I'll go with you." Sasuke nodded gratefully and turned back to Tsunade. She had closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair.

"You're all going." She said finally. Opening her eyes, she stood without a word and walked to Sasuke. She pressed her hand against his chest and removed the locks on his chakra. Sasuke closed his eyes as he felt his strength surged back.

"How the hell are we supposed to find her?" Shikamaru asked dejectedly. Tsunade raised a brow.

"Simple. Go to her house and grab something that Akamaru can get a scent from."

"There's no need to put so much effort in finding her. She's one shinobi, easily replaced." A voice said.

"She's not just any shinobi!!! She's the strongest kunoichi in Konoha! And she's like my fucking daughter!" Tsunade yelled, letting loose some of the terrible anger and pain she felt. She stomped toward the man. "But you wouldn't understand the concept of family, would you, Danzo? You cold-hearted bastard. And you have no idea how much the village depends on Sakura."

"I know more about this village than you ever will." Danzo said haughtily. Ignoring him, Tsunade turned back to the others.

"Go to Sakura's house. Grab what you need. And if you need any other ninja, inform me before you set out." She ordered.

"Of other ninja, Gaara and his siblings and Shino are coming. They'll meet us at the gates." Shikamaru replied as he led the others out.

"You're going too far, princess." Danzo said icily when they were gone.

"Shut up. I'm the Hokage, not you. Get out." Tsunade shot back. Danzo held her gaze for a moment then turned and left the room.

Drained, Tsunade flopped back in her chair. Tears ran down her face now that she was alone.

"Oh, Sakura, why?" she whispered painfully.

.::.

"Let's spread out. See if you can find anything Akatsuki-related." Kakashi said as the group stood in Sakura's living room. They nodded and fanned out. Sasuke immediately went up to the second floor. Remembering her room was directly above the one he'd stayed in, he entered the last door on the right. And he guessed right, he stood in Sakura's bedroom. (Picture in profile)

It was plain and simple. Her queen-sized bed was shoved in the lower left corner (bird's eye view-wise.) A bureau was to the right of it. There were three photographs on top of it. On the other side of the room stood a wooden desk and chair. Scrolls and papers were piled on top. Next to the desk was a door leading to a bathroom. A closet took up most of the other wall. There was fluffy black rug in the center of the room. For Kokuei probably.

Sasuke walked over to the bureau and picked up the first photograph on the right. It was picture of Sakura and Gaara, dressed in kimonos, together at the festival. Just seeing Gaara with his hand at Sakura's waist pissed Sasuke off. He nearly broke the frame in half right there. He set it down and picked up the middle photograph. It was a shot of all their friends, the Rookie 9, Team Gai, Gaara and his siblings, and all the private senseis. There was nothing special about that picture so Sasuke put it down and quickly forgot about it. He looked at the last one. It was their Team 7 picture. Sakura was between him and Naruto, Kakashi behind them with hands on the boys' heads. He set it down and checked the closet, bathroom, desk, and under the bed. Nothing. He left the room and opened the door directly across the hall.

"Holy shit," Sasuke breathed as he stared in awe at the room. There were numerous bookshelves crammed with books and scroll lining the walls of the room and throughout it. He counted eighteen of them along the walls and sixteen in the middle, in four groups of eight. And there was a small round table with a single chair in the center of the room, or at least he assumed it was since he couldn't actually see it because of the papers and scroll crammed on it. About half of them were open and one particular scroll was so long, it started on one end of the table, ran across it, and led down to the floor and into one of the aisles.

"Very, very impressive," Kakashi commented behind him. "No wonder she's so smart. But I wonder how she acquired all of it. It's so much it would take months or possibly years to go through all of these. We should too, but we don't have time." Sasuke nodded.

"I didn't find anything in her room about the Akatsuki." He replied.

"Alright, we'll just have—", Kakashi broke off as he heard a loud bashing sound coming from the hallway. "What's going on?" The two men walked out. Kiba, Neji and Shikamaru stood outside the first door coming up the stairs, watching Akamaru try to break it down. Shikamaru turned as he saw them.

"We can't get this door to open," he explained. Kakashi nodded. He waved at Akamaru to stop and ran his fingers along the door. High up on the door, he found the letter U carved into the wood.

"Hmm... a U?" Kakashi wondered aloud.

"A U? Why would someone carve a U on the door?" Kiba asked. Kakashi shook his head.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "Neji, can you see anything with your Byakugan. OR your Sharingan, Sasuke?" The two boys activated said kekkai genkai.

"Nothing," they said together. Kakashi scratched his head.

"I don't think we'll be able to figure out what opens this door easily. Let's just get Sakura's hair or shirt and be on our way." he said. The boys nodded and Sasuke went back to Sakura's room and pulled out a loose black T-shirt. He gave it to Kiba as they headed for the gates.

At the gates, as expected, they were met by Shino, Gaara, and his siblings. Sasuke glared at Gaara, recalling the last time he had seen the Kazekage. _When he was groping Sakura at her kitchen table, _Sasuke remembered, his teeth clenching. _Sakura told me he merely enjoyed her company so why would he have acted like she was the love of his life? It doesn't make any damn sense, especially since I overheard them talking about the beginning, when they were merely acting about the affection they had for one another. When did Gaara's feelings change? And how deep are they, damn it?! _Sasuke immersed himself in his thoughts, mechanically moving his feet when the team moved out.

.::.

"Kakashi-sensei! Akamaru says he's found Sakura!" Kiba announced. The team halted.

"Where?" Kakashi demanded. Kiba looked to his dog. Akamaru barked a reply.

"Five miles northwest of here," Kiba replied. Kakashi nodded.

"We'll keep moving until we're two miles from where Sakura is." Kakashi said. The team continued moving, at a slightly faster pace.

Behind Neji, Sasuke's heart pounded, but not from exertion from the run. They were so close, Sasuke struggled to resist the urge to speed ahead and tear apart the area for Sakura. If she was with other Akatsuki, he'd blow them to pieces and take Sakura back. Oh, and Naruto of course. _But wait... what if... she wants to be with the Akatsuki...? _Sasuke swore softly. _Fuck it, I'm taking her back anyway_, he thought determinedly, having no idea it was the exact same mindset Naruto had when he'd been trying to stop Sasuke from going to Orochimaru several years ago.

Not even forty-five minutes later, the team stopped and set up camp exactly two miles southeast of Sakura's location. Sasuke quickly set up his area and walked up to Kakashi.

"We need to recon the area." Sasuke said flatly. Kakashi sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Me, Shino, and Shikamaru are coming though." Kakashi replied. Sasuke nodded. They moved out.

One and a half miles northeast, they stopped behind a shelter of trees and examined the clearing before them. A compact wooden house lay nestled in a curve of trees. No windows offered a view of the clearing outside or of the room inside, and only one door in the front. Kakashi sent Shikamaru out to get a look at the house from other angles and he left and returned quickly.

"One window on each side of the house and a door in the back. Nothing else." He reported. Kakashi nodded.

"One of my bugs might be able to get into the house." Shino said in his rough voice.

"How would that help us?" Sasuke hissed. Shino didn't even look at him but held up a finger horizontally.

"This bug can transmit sounds, as in voices, to a miniature microphone in my bag. We'll be able to hear anything we want if my bug is in the same room. And it is hard to detect since it has minor camouflage abilities." He explained. Kakashi nodded eagerly.

"Send one in then." He ordered. Shino nodded and his bug flew off to the building. The four of them headed back to camp and filled in the others.

"So we just sit and wait? That kinda sucks." Kankuro whined. Temari elbowed him and Gaara glared at him. Kankuro winced and shut his mouth. Kakashi ignored them and set up watches. Kiba and Kankuro first, Temari and Shikamaru second, Tenten and Shino third, Sasuke and Gaara fourth, and Kakashi and Neji fifth. Each shift was two hours.

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke and Gaara. _We might have some problems...._ he thought.

.::.

The next day, the team gathered around Shino's microphone, waiting impatiently for the Akatsuki members.

_Akatsuki Base_

One hour after the Konoha ninja start waiting, an explosion rocked the base. Groaning, Sakura buried her face in pillow.

"Damn you, Deidara," she mumbled. Another explosion sounded.

"Holy shit!!!" Sakura heard Kisame yell. "You better get out of here, Deidara, or Sakura's gonna kill you!!!!!" Sakura swore, and dragged herself out of the room, still wearing her pajamas, an oversized white T-shirt and silk electric blue boxers. The sleepy-eyed look wiped from her face as she stared at the destruction in the kitchen. Pancake batter covered everything, even the ceiling. A drop fell from it and plopped on Sakura's head. Wiping it off slowly, Sakura stared hard at the quivering blonde man in the corner.

"Dei-dar-a, you sunuvabitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screeched and chased him out of the kitchen, bloody murder in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!!!!! It was an accident!!!!!!" he shouted back as he ran out of the house.

"You're gonna pay for that!!!!!" Sakura hollered as they went crashing through the woods, treating the Konoha ninja to seeing Sakura, who was in pajamas, chase the blonde, who was wearing his fishnet shirt and pants, all through the forest and out of sight.

Kisame, who had moved to the doorway to watch the chase, smirked. "No way is he coming back soon. This is the second time he's done this." He chuckled. "Although, Leader-sama will be mad if she actually does kill him. Itachi, you should follow her, only you can calm her down."

Itachi looked up from his place on the couch and nodded, seeing the logic. He levered himself up and silently left the house.

"Yo, what the fuck, man? What's with all the fucking noise so early in the goddamn morning?" Hidan demanded from the hall.

"Deidara blew up pancakes in the kitchen again, moron. Weren't you listening?" Kakuzu replied behind him.

"Sakura-chan chased Deidara-senpai?" Tobi asked behind them.

"Well, obviously, you retard." Hidan retorted. Tobi whimpered.

"Why is Hidan-senpai always so mean to Tobi? Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi said.

"Oh just shut the fuck up! Stop acting like a fucking little kid!" Hidan cried, exasperated.

"You shut up, moron." Kakuzu muttered.

"Why is Kakuzu-senpai always calling Hidan-senpai a moron? Tobi doesn't get it!!!" Tobi cried, literally.

Kisame sighed. They all acted like little insane brats when Sakura wasn't there to keep the peace. _How the hell did we manage to not kill each other before Leader-sama took her? _Kisame wondered.

Outside, the Konoha ninja were shocked at the actions of the Akatsuki.

"They're all like little kids." Shikamaru whispered. Everyone nodded in agreement, even Gaara.

.::.

Hours later, Sakura and Itachi walked back into the base. Kisame raised his brows when he saw Sakura dripping wet. He stared when he noticed Deidara's clothes in Sakura's hand.

"Did you drown him in Mist?" Kisame asked. Sakura ignored him and turned down the left hallway, where she and Itachi's rooms were. Kisame raised the same question to Itachi. He shook his head.

"Worse. Much worse," was all he said. Kisame gulped.

"Is he dead?"

"No. But he's barely alive." Kisame shuddered, recalling Sakura's skill in torture. Kisame looked at the doorway to the right hallway, where the other rooms were.

"None of the others have the chakra to replace him if Leader-sama summons us to extract the two-tailed." Kisame said.

"It'll be fine." Itachi said. Sakura emerged from her room wearing a burgundy T-shirt and a pair of Itachi's black shorts. "Are you ever going to stop wearing my clothes?" he asked.

"Nope," Sakura replied pleasantly. Itachi let out a small sigh but Sakura ignored him. "TOBI!" she yelled.

"Yes, Sakura-chan," Tobi chirped, appearing from nowhere.

"Will you help me clean up Deidara's horrible mess? I'll make you some cookies." Sakura asked sweetly. Tobi nodded eagerly.

"Tobi will do anything for Sakura-chan! Especially for cookies!" he said, grabbing Sakura in a hug. Sakura laughed and hugged the man back.

"Thanks, Tobi. Anyone else wanna do some disgusting manual labor?" She called out. No answer. "The person who cleans the most has no chores for a week!" Immediately all the Akatsuki members set to work to clean up the kitchen, even Itachi. Sakura happily settled herself on the couch, letting her boys do the work.

A dirty, curse-filled hour later, the kitchen was clean. Sakura walked in and surveyed the work. She nodded in approval.

"She likes it! But who gets the free week?" Tobi said excitedly in a conspirator's whisper, hopping from one foot to another. Sakura turned in a circle and examined her boys.

"Itachi looks like he did the most work. He gets no chores. Hidan, you're barely dirty, you can get his chores!" she announced.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!!!!! The stupid fucking sunuvabitch didn't do squat!!!" Hidan yelled, pointing at Itachi. Sakura turned to him slowly.

"And how would you know? You've got the brain of a flea." She retorted. "I mean considering your parentage, you're lucky to have a brain even that size." Hidan cringed, recalling their last cussfest. Hidan and Sakura had an ongoing contest, who can out cuss who. Sakura had won every recent contest.

Suddenly, Sakura cried out in pain and clutched her head, falling to her knees. Itachi rushed forward, and let her grip his hand to somehow alleviate the pain while putting his other arm around her and lean her against him. The others looked nervously at her, knowing what the sudden excruciating head pain meant. Leader-sama was making contact with her, most likely with orders for them.

**Sakura. **

_Yes, Pain-sama? _Sakura thought, still shuddering from the pain.

**I trust the two-tailed is in your possession? **

_Yes, Pain-sama. Itachi also grabbed the nine-tailed. _

**Interesting. Konan and I will be back from Mist in two days. No one is allowed to use their chakra until then. We will extract the bijou once we arrive. Understood?**

_Yes, Pain-sama. _Sakura replied, and then realized she and Itachi must fetch Deidara from his prison. She sighed. _Anything else, master? _(Note, in English Naruto comics master is used in place of sensei. However in this situation, Sakura is actually saying master, not sensei.)

**No. However, Kokuei has informed me you disobeyed orders during your mission. You will suffer the consequences. Understood?**

_Yes, I understand, Pain-sama. _Sakura silently cursed the wolf-dog Pain had stuck on her after he'd taken her from Konoha. His ability to transform into a human through a black pill was forever annoying. (His human picture is in profile, just FYI.) And he was also a liability; she wasn't allowed to let him get hurt. Sakura cursed the troubles in her life because of Pain.

Just as quickly as he had entered, Pain left Sakura's mind. The pain slowly eased and Sakura was able to stand. She nodded thanks to Itachi for letting her grip his hand, almost breaking it and leaned away from him.

"Orders, Sakura?" Kisame asked. Sakura nodded.

"Pain-sama and Konan will be returning in two days time. No one is allowed to use their chakra since we'll be extracting the two-tailed bijou then." She said briefly before dragging Itachi from the room.

"What?" he said irritated.

"We have to get Deidara." She said. Itachi sighed.

"Fine, fine." He muttered. They grabbed their cloaks from their room and headed out.

.::.

The Konoha shinobi sat in a circle in their campsite, brooding.

"I think we should let them extract the bijou from Ryo." Shikamaru said finally. "Then they should have low enough chakra the next day for us to take them down long enough to grab Sakura and Naruto." Kakashi sighed.

"Perhaps, but all of the Akatsuki will be there. And you're all mostly chuunin. We won't be able to stand a chance against them." He said gravely.

"But like Shikamaru said, they should have low chakra levels," Tenten insisted. She refused to believe Sakura was willingly in the Akatsuki.

"_Should. _We hardly know anything about what sort of skills they have and even less about their extraction jutsu." Kakashi said. The shoulders of the shinobi sagged.

"Is there any hope for us to get the two of them?" Neji asked softly. Kakashi scratched the felt covering his chin.

"Perhaps," he mused, "if we strike later into the night after they extract the bijou. Or whenever they seem the weakest."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like the way Sakura was so casual with the Akatsuki. Especially with his brother. _What had Kisame meant when he said 'only you can calm her'? What the hell is really going on in there? _He frowned, and ran a hand through his hair. _And all the shit Sakura told me about in Kumogakure? Could she really having been telling me the truth? Goddamn it, I just don't get it!!! _He growled in frustration and stood and up turned to swiftly kick a tree to vent his anger.

"Calm down, Sasuke," Kakashi said mildly. He had a hint of what Sasuke was feeling and knew he was ready to snap. He turned back to the rest of the team. "For now, we still wait and observe. It sounds like Itachi and Sakura are going to fetch Deidara. Shino, get another one of your sound bugs to follow them. They might let something slip." Shino nodded and summoned a bug to follow the two Akatsuki.

.::.

Sakura and Itachi jumped through the trees, almost flying through them, toward the place of Deidara's prison. Sakura moved carefully, the headache now a dull pain in the back of her head. Itachi moved closer to her as they pushed off another branch.

"So how was your time with dear little Sasuke?" he said in a slightly teasing tone. Sakura stiffened and to her mortification, felt heat rush into her face.

"It was nothing special." She said, trying to sound neutral.

"Sure," he said, sarcasm dripping in his tone. Sakura turned her head and glared at him.

"What makes you think different?" she glowered. Itachi merely pointed at the emerald necklace still around her neck. Sakura gasped and quickly stuffed it under her shirt.

"So what?" she muttered, knowing it was pointless to deny it being from Sasuke.

"Sasuke isn't the type to buy an emerald necklace for anybody." Itachi replied. Sakura shrugged.

"So he's trying to get a girl so he can rebuild his precious clan. Big whoop." She said. Itachi sighed and ran his ringed hand through his long black locks.

"He loves you, you know." Sakura jerked her shoulders.

"So he said. I still don't trust him."

"How many times?" Itachi asked.

"How many times what?" Sakura inquired.

"How many times did he say so, or try to convince you?" Itachi elaborated impatiently.

"Hmm, let's see... one, two, three, and four...four times," Sakura recalled, counting on her fingers. She moved her shoulders uncomfortably under Itachi's stare. "Hey, I cut him some slack at the last one." Itachi's eyes narrowed and Sakura felt the stare more accusing since he'd switched off his Sharingan.

"What kind of slack?"

"Okay so maybe I hinted to him a little about that night. Not that much," she added quickly when Itachi's eyes flickered with surprise then glared at her some more.

"Sakura, you'll be punished for that," he said.

"I know, I know. Pain-sama already said so," she muttered. Itachi shook his head.

"I can't help you there. You brought it on yourself."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." She muttered. She gave a frustrated sigh. "I couldn't help it. I mean come on, how many times do you want to tell him yourself?!"

Itachi looked away and nodded. He paused as a thought flitted into his mind.

"So then you care about him..." Itachi mused. He looked at her out of his eyes. "I wonder just how much? Enough to...you know..." Sakura blushed, knowing just what he meant. Itachi smirked triumphantly as he watched her red face.

"So you did do it. Interesting." Itachi's eyes danced with amusement as Sakura turned redder. She quickly waved her hands in front of her face, trying to cool the air.

"It wasn't my fault, okay? I was drunk, and he was the one who decided to take me up to my room!" she snapped. Itachi, shocked, stopped to a halt on a branch. Sakura stopped beside him. (Itachi OOC-ness coming up.)

"He...he took _advantage _of you?! That stupid son of a bitch!!!" Itachi seethed. "What scum does that?!" Sakura chuckled quietly to herself, sensing the irony in the words coming out of an S-classed criminal's mouth.

"There's nothing acceptable about rape," Itachi muttered. Sakura wisely nodded in agreement. "My stupid, foolish little brother. I'm going to punch him in the face for doing that to you."

"Calm down," Sakura muttered and started jumping again. Itachi reluctantly followed her.

_Konoha Spy Base Camp_

Sasuke stood up hastily and walked out of the camp when he heard Sakura and Itachi talk about what he did the night of the festival. He only got a few yards away when he was jerked around by his collar.

"Hey what the—" his words died in his throat when he saw it was Gaara, glaring at him with murder in his eyes. Without a word, Gaara rammed his fist in Sasuke's face. He dropped to the ground.

"I'll kill you for doing that to her," the Kazekage said softly.

"Oh shut up. Sakura told me herself you two were just friends. What's the big deal? I _love_ her." Sasuke muttered. Gaara's eyes widened slightly then narrowed again.

"Liar," he hissed. Sand swirled at Gaara's feet, moved by his anger. "Sakura is my lover." Sasuke clenched his fists, imagining himself punching Gaara in his cocky face over and over and reveled in the feel of his flesh and blood on his fists. Gaara frowned slightly, feeling the murderous intent glinting in Sasuke's Sharingan (yeah he switched it on.) Gaara stepped closer.

"We'll settle this, after _I _get Sakura back," he whispered.

"Like hell," Sasuke snapped. "Sakura is mine!!!!!" But Gaara had already walked away. Sasuke grudgingly followed him back to the camp. He looked down at his feet when he felt the stares from the other shinobi.

"What a pig," Kankuro whispered to Temari. She nodded slightly. Tenten whispered something similar to Neji. Sasuke swallowed and tried to not to spew a retort at them. _They just don't get it, _he thought frustrated as he sat down on his rumpled sleeping bag. He sighed and tuned back into the microphone bug that was following Itachi and Sakura.

_Itachi and Sakura _

"Mercy, please, Sakura-chan," Deidara moaned as Sakura dragged him back toward the base. He was only wearing black boxer shorts and was covered in cuts and bruises. Sakura tied him up with rope and was dragging him by one end. (That wasn't the prison; it's just how she's taking him back.) Itachi walked at Sakura's side, his face stoic as usual.

Pretty soon they found themselves back in the forest that the base was semi hidden in. Sakura jerked Deidara forward and pointed toward the base.

"Go," she ordered. "And no chakra-wasting, Pain-sama's orders." Deidara hurriedly nodded and ran off. Once he was out of sight, out of mind, Sakura climbed into a tree and sat on a branch that would face the sunrise. Itachi swung up next to her. Sakura laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Tired?" Itachi murmured, brushing some of her hair from her face. She nodded slightly. Itachi draped his arm around her shoulders, nudging her a bit closer. They talked for a bit, but it was too low for Shino's bug to pick up. After a while, their voices rose high enough for the bug to transmit back.

"So in a word, yes," Itachi finished. Sakura nodded her head. Then she smiled slyly.

"How do you know about all this stuff?" she asked. "Did Itachi have a girlfriend?" She teased, poking him in the ribs. Scowling, Itachi smacked her hand away. Then to her surprise, his cheeks turned a very light shade of pink. Sakura's grin widened. "You did, didn't you?? So the great Uchiha Itachi, notorious S-classed criminal, had a girl! Does that mean you aren't a virgin?" Itachi's blush turned a deeper shade. Sakura laughed.

"So what's she like?"

"No, not what's she like, it's what _was _she like?" Itachi said softly. Sakura paused and the grin wiped from her face. She laid a hand on his arm.

"Sorry," she replied in the same tone he used. She shifted slightly as Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. He handed it to Sakura after giving it a brief glance.

"Her name was Matsuoka Chiyuki." He said, his voice softening and warming slightly. Sakura stared at the picture. It was a close up of a young woman, probably a year younger than Itachi, with long black hair and green eyes. She had her hair tied back in a ponytail; a little lower than Itachi's hair tie. She wore a knee-length black skirt and an unadorned white long-sleeved shirt. Her Konoha hitai-ate was tied on her upper right arm. (Picture is in profile.)

"I met her a few days after I became a jounin. She was a chuunin and her clan was practically unknown so I didn't pay her any attention. Until she bested me in a taijutsu spar," Itachi laughed a little, but there was regret in his tone. "After the spar, I watched her train. She worked herself to the bone. I was surprised at her fervor, so I asked her. She said, "I have someone I want to protect. At this stage, I cannot. So I must train. It's a very simple concept, Itachi-senpai." I was baffled. I'd always thought shinobi trained out of pride or by force, like I did. I asked her who she wanted to protect and she said she wanted to save her brother from the greed that had destroyed her clan. After some days of hard thinking, I realized I could do the same for Sasuke.

"But I knew the truth about the Uchiha clan would destroy him. I told Chiyuki the same a week later. She agreed with me when I proposed that I try and stop the clan, and then she pressed a hand against my cheek and kissed me for good luck. I realized I wanted to protect her too, that I somehow had fallen in love with her. My father found us one day, in the forest." Itachi paused and Sakura felt dread go through her as she realized what he was about to say.

"For some reason, Fugaku recognized Chiyuki and demanded why I was with "a useless weakling such as her." I activated my Sharingan and attacked him. We fought for a bit but then he was able to hit me in my blind spot. Which I no longer have," he said, glancing at Sakura. "I fell down to the ground and he stepped on me and stalked towards Chiyuki. She tried to defend herself but it was no use. And Fugaku...he..." Itachi broke off as anger and sorrow consumed him. He let out a ragged breath.

"And he killed her." Itachi whispered. "Sliced her open right in front of me and started ranting about the Uchiha clan. I thought, _fuck you sick son of a bitch_ after screaming no for a minute and activated my Mangekyou Sharingan. I tortured him for hours but I knew it wouldn't bring her back. I rebelled even more against the clan after that because I knew I still had to protect Sasuke. I did what I could. And I still want him happy. That's why I want you to let him be with you." Itachi fell silent.

Sakura sat silently, swinging her legs. She titled her head to look at him.

"I don't remember." She whispered. Itachi looked at her curiously.

"Remember what?" Itachi asked.

"The thing you were just talking about, duh. I can't remember what my hopes and dreams are." Sakura laughed at Itachi's expression. It was a mix of surprise and horror, an alien expression that looked strange on his face. "You can thank Pain for that. He blocked that out when he branded me." Sakura said, and pulled down her shirt to reveal a tattoo on her chest, just above her breasts. Black flame-like marks were to both sides of a capital p written old fancy lettering. (Picture is in profile. Not what I want it to be thought of as but close enough.)

"So that's how he controls and connects to you." Itachi said, examining the mark closely. Sakura nodded.

"I usually hide it with some chakra. I was surprised it didn't show that night of the festival. Oh well, what happened, happened. Let's get back to base. No more dreaming about the impossible." Sakura started to fall back and jump down but Itachi grabbed her hand.

"Love is not impossible. I mean, I fell in love," he pointed out. Sakura drilled a hole into his chest with her finger.

"You aren't controlled by a guy who calls himself god and can do anything he damn well pleases to you, pal. I'm stuck as his pet forever. So shut up with all your hope shit," she snapped, wishing quickly that what she felt did not show on her face.

She left without another word. Itachi sat where he was for a moment, and then walked after Sakura into the dark.


	9. Heartbeat

Chapter 9: Shattered Dreams

* * *

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. He clenched his fists and raised his eyes to scan the others. Kakashi had moved from his seat to stand and stare in the direction of the Akatsuki base. Shikamaru was crouched in his thinking position with his eyes closed. Gaara glared at the ground and the sand swirled around him. Sasuke stood up and walked over to Kakashi.

"Is there any way to break whatever seal Pain has on Sakura?" he asked him quietly. Kakashi sighed.

"I honestly don't know. I've never heard of this sort of jutsu before. We'll need to examine and question Sakura to get an idea," he replied.

"Killing Pain should get rid of it," Sasuke said.

"He's the leader of the Akatsuki, Sasuke. We'll need all the ninja in Konoha, including Naruto, to stand a chance. Even then, we might not destroy him because we don't know a damn thing about him." Kakashi said gravely.

"Find then, I'll just go get Sakura," Sasuke snapped and started forward. Kakashi grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.

"We don't know what Pain could do to her if we try and take her back!" Kakashi said. Helpless, Sasuke stared into the trees.

"We can't just leave her there!" he protested.

"Our first priority is Naruto," Shikamaru said matter-of-factly behind them. Sasuke whipped right around and punched him.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi reprimanded.

"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted. "You don't know how much she matters to me!!!"

"Oh, sure we do," Kankuro drawled. "We all take advantage of the people we love when they're drunk, right, Temari?" Temari nodded in agreement.

"Fuck you!" Sasuke screamed at them. His Sharingan flashed dangerously. "I'll just go and get her myself then!" Sasuke turned and sprinted through the forest.

"Oh hell…" Shikamaru groaned as he wiped the blood off his chin. He looked to Kakashi and Neji. "Do we go after him?"

"No, we won't be able to control him," Neji said. "It's on his head if Sakura gets hurt." Shikamaru nodded.

.::.

Sasuke flew through the forest but skidded to a stop behind the base, suddenly remembering the idea to wait until it was night to strike. He uncurled his fist to reveal the microphone he'd palmed when no one was looking. He climbed a tree and settled himself on a branch then tuned in with half an ear to the chatter inside the base. However, no more than five minutes later, he was asleep.

_Akatsuki Base_

"Night, Itachi." Sakura called out as the man shut his bedroom door, which was directly across the hall from hers. Once it shut firmly, Sakura hurried down the hallway, going opposite from the living room. She opened a heavy wooden door and carefully walked down the flight of dark, damp stairs. She grabbed a lit torch at the base and walked down the left hallway. She grabbed a set of keys hanging from a hook on the wall and used one to open an iron-barred cell door. She set the torch in a holder jammed in the wall. She knelt beside the lone figure on the floor of the room.

"Naruto, wake up," she said, shaking him gently. He groaned and opened his eyes.

"Sakura-chan?" he whispered hoarsely. Sakura twisted off the cap of a bottle she'd brought with her and held it to his lips. He drank half the bottle in one gulp.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she lifted his shirt to examine his chest. His ribs and other injuries had healed quickly due to his demon chakra and Sakura's advanced medical techniques. Naruto's blurry eyes cleared as he recalled what had happened.

"Are you really apart of Akatsuki?" he asked softly. Sakura stopped moving and looked up at him.

"Yes," she said. Naruto lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes, as pain ripped in his heart.

"How long?"

"Three years, nine months, six days, eight hours, and twenty minutes ago," she replied immediately. Naruto chuckled at that, despite the situation. He sobered quickly.

"Why?" he asked. Sakura shrugged and said nothing. He looked at her questioningly. When he opened his mouth, she shook her head and pressed a finger to his lips. She used her finger to write in the dirt on the floor.

BAD MISSION. KIDNAPPED. PAIN'S PET. FORCED. NO CHOICE.

She quickly wiped the words away and wrote again.

BEING WATCHED. KNOWS ALL I SAY. BE CAREFUL.

Naruto nodded calmly even as his anger at Sakura's imprisonment flared. He held up his hands, stuck them together then pulled them apart. Only years of friendship made it possible for Sakura to understand. She wiped the words away and wrote again.

KILL HIM OR ME. TOO STRONG. DIE IF FIGHT HIM. LOST CAUSE. DON'T TRY.

Naruto shook his head fiercely. He too starting writing in the dirt as his mind worked fast.

NO WAY! I'M GOING TO SAVE YOU! BUT I NEED TO ESCAPE. HOW?

Sakura shrugged and wrote.

KONOHA CAMP NOT FAR. MAYBE THEY ATTACK?

Naruto nodded again.

"I'm going to bed, it's nearly midnight," Sakura murmured. She got up to leave.

"Good night, Sakura-chan," Naruto said softly as she closed and locked the cell door. Sakura smiled at him then left.

Back upstairs, she blew out a breath and strode straight into the bathroom after grabbing her pajamas off the bed. Under the hot beat of the shower spray, Sakura sagged against the wall, exhausted after the day's emotional outbursts. She absently rubbed the heel of her hand against Pain's tattoo. _Naruto is determined to get me out of here, but it's impossible. I'm stuck as Pain's pet forever, no matter how anyone feels about it. Even Sasuke. Although, it would have been nice if I could fall in love again. Gaara was just a way to get my hands on some information. Oh well, what's done is done. _

Sakura switched off the water. She dried and changed into her pajamas. She stepped into her plain room. She glanced out the window once then snuggled under her covers. She dropped into sleep in five seconds.

_Sakura's breath escaped in quick gasps as she ran through the trees as fast as she could. Suddenly she stopped, her body pitched forward as a sword swiped through the area her head had been in. She kicked backwards and grinned to herself when she heard a surprised grunt of pain. She pulled out a kunai and twisted around to stab her opponent. She cried out as she was stabbed in the side. Poison quickly mixed in her bloodstream. _

_Sakura sent chakra to the spot to eradicate the poison as she pulled out the kunai lodged at the spot. She jumped up and away as her two opponents came after her. Once the poison was gone she gathered chakra into her fist and shattered the tree around her. As the two men struggled to dodge the flying debris she executed a series of hand signs and trapped them in a genjutsu. _

_But the orange-haired man appeared behind her and kicked her in the back, sending her to the floor. Sakura struggled to get up when the other black-haired man stood over her and pointed a sword at her neck. _

"_Fail," the orange-haired man said. "You think a simple genjutsu will trick an opponent? Again."_

"_Yes, Pain-sama," Sakura muttered. She stood up and took her sword from Ko. Sakura turned around and suddenly found herself in her bedroom at Konoha. Arms wrapped around her waist._

"_Sakura-chan," Sasuke whispered silkily in her ear. _

"_S-Sasuke...?" Sakura said. Sasuke turned her around in his arms so she faced him and kissed her. His teeth nipped lightly in her bottom lip. Sakura moaned a little and Sasuke slipped his tongue between her lips. Sakura lifted her arms to wrap around his neck as she deepened the kiss. Sasuke started to push her deeper into the room. Soon, they fell on her bed. Sasuke pulled back for a moment as he pulled off their shirts. Their mouths met again, and then Sasuke trailed a series of kisses down her throat and to her collarbone as he expertly flicked a finger to unclasp her bra. It slipped away and Sasuke covered her nipple with his mouth. Sakura moaned as she pressed her hands against his head to urge him on. _

"_Sasuke..." she arched against him. _

Sakura shot up in bed, panting hard. Her mouth and breast tingled as Sasuke had actually touched his lips to them. Sakura ran her hands up her arms as she got out of bed and left her room. She padded barefoot into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. When she turned away from the refrigerator to return her room, she was slammed back against it. A hand clamped over her mouth and she dropped the glass. A few broken shards cut her feet but were ignored as Sakura stared wide-eyed.

"Pain-sama," she said muffled against his hand. Ko stood behind him, staring at her wordlessly. Pain's hand tightened against her mouth.

"You've disobeyed me yet again, Sakura," he said coldly. Sakura felt her heart skip a beat as she looked at him. _He could only be talking about that dream I just had. Damn it! What's he going to do to me now?_

Pain's eyes widened as he activated his Rinnegan. Sakura cried out in pain but it was muffled against Pain's hand as she felt Pain enter her mind. Her dream flashed in light speed before her eyes before they rolled up white.

"You will no longer have such thoughts," Pain said coldly. He'd just taken away her ability to have any dreams while she slept. Sakura whimpered slightly as he released and she slid bonelessly to the floor. Pain and Ko left the room without a word and disappeared down the right hallway. Sakura passed out from the shock and pain.

.::.

Sasuke sat tensed in the tree as he listened intently to what was happening in the kitchen. His hatred for Pain raised another notch. _Sakura never did anything to deserve this! _He thought furiously. He couldn't wait; he needed to Sakura out **now. **He dropped from the tree and snuck closer to the base, his chakra having been masked long before. He moved to one of the windows and peeked inside. It was empty, with the bed covers tangled. Sakura's room, he deduced. He ran his fingers along the windowsill until he found a latch to unlock it. He pushed up, hoping it wouldn't make a sound. It slid up noiselessly. Sasuke let out a breath in relief as he slipped inside the room. He waited until his eyes adjusted to the dark and he looked around the room. He spotted Sakura's pack and picked it up, slinging it over his shoulder. He approached the door, and grasped the handle. Hoping it also wouldn't make a noise, he turned the handle.

_Mother fucking son of a bitch! _He swore in his head when it let out a tiny squeak. He strained to hear if it had alerted any of the Akatsuki. It hadn't. He slipped into the hallway and crept close to the wall. He finally reached the living room. He looked around, trying to see if there were any enemies there. He didn't sense anything so he turned into the kitchen. He squatted down beside Sakura's limp body. He brushed the hair away from her pale face then lifted her into his arms bridal style. He turned around to get out the way he came. He froze when he saw a shadow move. Kakashi appeared.

"Come on, Sasuke," he whispered. Sasuke nodded with relief and tightened his grip on Sakura. They went down the hallway back to her room.

"And just where do you think you're taking her?" a voice said in front of them. The two shinobi stopped. Kisame stood, leaning against the wall with his Samehada, grinning at them. "You didn't think you couldn't get in and out of our base unnoticed, did you?"

"Don't underestimate us, yeah," Deidara said behind them.

"You fucking losers," Hidan grinned next to Deidara.

"Did **you **think just the two of us came?" Kakashi asked. The rest of the Konoha shinobi appeared. Neji was supported Naruto, whose arm was slung over his shoulder.

"Sakura is one of us." Shikamaru said. "You can't have her." Hidan chuckled.

"That's **our **line, dumb ass," he said.

"It doesn't matter, just get Sakura from the stupid kid's arms," Kisame ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a knot," Hidan muttered and brandished his three-pronged scythe. He leaped forward and sliced at Kakashi and Sasuke. They ducked and jumped toward the others.

"She's mine!!!!" Sasuke shouted, and turned and ran to Sakura's room. He kicked open the door but stopped when he spotted Itachi sitting cross-legged on the floor. Itachi stood up and Sasuke stepped cautiously into the room.

"No shouts for revenge, little brother?" Itachi smirked. Sasuke growled low in the throat. _I'd just love to take the smirk and shove it down his throat but Sakura needs me more. _

"Don't screw with me," he muttered aloud. "Get out of my way. I'm taking Sakura home." Itachi lazily raised a brow.

"This is her home," he said.

"No it's not!!!" Sasuke shouted. "Her home is in Konoha. With me, damn it!"

Itachi stared at Sasuke for what felt like an eternity. The fight outside the doors didn't faze either of the Uchiha brothers. Finally, Itachi stepped out of the way. Confused, Sasuke looked at him.

"A-aniki?" Sasuke tried. Surprised, Itachi looked at Sasuke. "Why?"

"To measure your capacity," Itachi said. Baffled, Sasuke stared at him.

"Sasuke! What are you doing?! Get her out of here!!" Neji shouted outside. Sasuke snapped out his trance-like state, and leaped out the window, casting one look back at his big brother. He shook off the uncomfortable feeling and sped off toward Konoha.

Back inside the base, Kakashi grabbed three smoke balls and threw them at the floor so they could make their escape. The group quickly followed Sasuke back home.

.::.

Sakura emerged from a black pit of darkness with a groan of pain. She heard her name being called but felt too weak.

"Come on, Sakura, all the way now," Sasuke urged as he held her hand. It flexed once, and then lay still again. He'd sat beside her bed ever since he'd brought her to the hospital. Tsunade had said she was fine and would only have a headache when she woke. It didn't help Sasuke sleep any easier. Her eyes finally fluttered open. She turned her head slightly to look at him.

"Sas…uke?" she mumbled. Sasuke nodded and used his free hand to brush the hair away from her face. "Wha…s…hap…pen?"

"We got you and Naruto from the Akatsuki base," he replied. Sakura closed her eyes as she struggled to remember. Finally, it came to her.

"How long…was I…out?" she asked.

"Three days," he said. "Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Will you let Tsunade examine you?" Sakura nodded. Sasuke reluctantly let go of her hand and walked to the door. Pulling it open he said, "She's awake. You can look at her, Tsunade."

The Hokage rushed in, relief evident on her face as she looked at her student.

"You feeling okay?" she asked.

"Hurts," she mumbled.

"I don't want her to have any pain!" Sasuke snapped. Tsunade waved a hand then examined Sakura with her chakra.

"No physical injuries," Tsunade announced. She moved her hands to her head. Frowning, she concentrated and eased the headache. "What the hell did Pain do to you?"

"Lots of things," she mumbled. Sasuke pushed Tsunade aside.

"What kinds of things?" Sasuke demanded. "Tell me so I can break that number of bones in his body before I kill him!"

"Can't kill him," Sakura said.

"Why?" Sasuke and Tsunade frowned.

"Because he thinks he's God," Naruto said from the doorway. "And I'm guessing he's got the power to prove it."

"He can blow up half of the village with one jutsu," Sakura mumbled. Sasuke swore.

"I'll find a way," he muttered. "First, I'm taking you back to your place."

"'Kay," Sakura mumbled. Sakura leaned her head on his chest when Sasuke picked her up bridal style.

"We'll get this bastard, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "It's a promise."

Sasuke nodded then jumped out of the window. He leaped over rooftops, speeding toward her house. Shifting her in his arms, he kicked the door open then headed upstairs to her room.

"Thanks," Sakura mumbled when he sat her down on the bed.

"How's the headache?"

"Better," she replied.

"What the hell did Pain do to you?" Sasuke asked.

"Can't have dreams when I sleep anymore."

"How the hell does he do that?" Sasuke demanded. Sakura shrugged.

"How should I know? Just when he does that, I can't do something anymore."

"When I kill him, will it come back?" Sasuke asked.

"Maybe, I don't know." Sakura said. Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then a thought entered his head. He dropped his hand.

"That stuff you said about Itachi. It's true, isn't it?" he asked softly.

"Yes."

"You stopped telling me when we were at the village. Why?"

"Kokuei reports to Pain when he turns into a human. My dark shadow," Sakura muttered. "Asshole covers all his bases."

"I don't think all of them." Sasuke murmured.

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

Sasuke turned his head towards her, slid his arm around her shoulders, leaned in and kissed her.

"I don't think that's Pain," Sasuke grinned slightly when he broke the kiss. Sakura scowled, even though the statement brought an immense feeling of happiness. But it quickly disappeared.

"But most everything else is," she pointed out.

"Naruto and I will kill Pain, you know we will," he assured her. "Then the two of us can get married." Sakura blushed.

"What makes you think I want to marry you?" she demanded.

"I thought about what you said at Kumo. It's Pain forcing you to say that. I know it. Well, some of it's you, but not all!" Sasuke reasoned. "I mean, you kept switching between pissy and nice. I know which attitude is more you."

"Whatever, you still can't do anything unless Pain is gone." Sakura muttered. Sasuke nodded.

"We'll discuss it tomorrow," he said. "Sleep time now." Sakura nodded and slipped under the covers. Sasuke pulled off his shirt and started to climb in with her.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" Sakura asked. Sasuke raised a brow.

"You think I'm going to leave you alone? I don't think so," he said and slid under the covers. Sakura blushed and he brought against his naked chest. Sakura frowned as she looked at it.

"This isn't the same as it was before," Sakura poked his chest.

"I used a jutsu to make it look bad so Karin wouldn't bother me about it. I forgot to undo until we got back here to Konoha." Sasuke said, his eyes closed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and buried his face in her hair. He definitely could sleep like this for the rest of his life. He smiled slightly when he felt Sakura snuggle closer to him.

_I'll take this one moment, _Sakura thought sleepily. _Tomorrow's going to be busy as hell and I might not have the day after…_


	10. Reflections

Thank you all for reviews and adding me or my story to your favorites or alerts list! I really appreciate it! :D I really do, honestly! :o

Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even my soul.

I believe this is a short chapter in comparison to the others since it's mainly a filler and focuses more on SasuSaku. Just fyi, chapter thirteen will be the final chapter.

Prepare for changes in Sakura's attitude toward the shinobi and Sasuke.

* * *

Chapter 10: Reflections

* * *

Sakura took her time walking to Hokage Tower the next day. Kotetsu had appeared at her door in the morning and told her Tsunade wanted to see her. Which was expected. Tsunade obviously wanted a full report on her affiliation with Akatsuki. Sakura idly toyed with the idea of continuing to put on the mask Pain had told her to create the past few years but dropped it. All of her acquaintances and most of the other shinobi knew of her secret so there was really no point in keeping the act up. An amused smile flitted on her lips at the outright fear on a chuunin that passed by her. His elbow brushed her Anbu cloak and the boy flinched, expecting to be killed. This time Sakura sniggered.

_They really are spooked, having finally realized that one of the highest ranked and trusted shinobi in the village turned out to be one of their greatest enemies, _Sakura thought as she approached the double doors leading to the Hokage's office. She gave what barely passed for a knock then walked in without waiting for an answer. Tsunade was leaning back in her chair, absently tapping her finger on a scroll laid open on her desk. Sakura walked forward and dropped into one of the chairs, throwing one arm behind the back and setting one ankle over the thigh of her other leg in a cocky pose. Tsunade lifted a brow at her ex-apprentice's behavior before leaning forward and looking at her seriously.

"Sakura, I need a full briefing on how you got in the Akatsuki," she said. _Surprise, surprise, _Sakura thought dryly but she shrugged.

"It started on the return trip on the mission to Mist I was on with Neji," she began. "We ran into Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara. Kisame and Deidara fought against Neji while I was alone with Itachi. The fight lasted for a while until I accidently looked into Itachi's eyes and got sucked into Tsukuyomi. So I passed out and the three took me to one of their bases. I was handed over to Pain and he interrogated me on Naruto but I didn't tell him anything so he decided to use me as a spy and stuck the seal here on my chest. Then he kept me around for a few months to train me."

"For a few months? But you were here the whole time," Tsunade inquired.

"Pain ordered Itachi to use a clone to masquerade as me. Then once Pain was satisfied with my skill, he gave me Kokuei to make sure I followed his orders and then I switched with Itachi's clone. My first order was to make it into Anbu," Sakura added.

"Yes, you're sudden increase in power was surprising. But I just thought you were overworking yourself in training again," Tsunade mused. Sakura lifted a shoulder, a half smile on her face.

"So what are your orders now? Or your latest ones?" Tsunade asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh I just was supposed to let Itachi and Kisame take Ryo and Naruto on the mission," Sakura shrugged._ Lie._

"And Pain just uses Kokuei to watch over you?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes." _No._

"What sort of blocks, we'll say, has Pain put on you?"

"I can't remember what I want, and I can't have any dreams when I sleep." _I don't care about anyone in Konoha, and I can't raise a weapon against an Akatsuki member. _

"I've already examined the seal and I've got to say I've never seen anything like it," Tsunade confessed. "But I'm not going to give up. So anyway, what kind of techniques does Pain have?"

"I don't know."

"Why not?!"

"The seal." _Lie._

"Ah."

"Not to worry. I know all about Pain now." A puff of smoke appeared and the voice came from within. It quickly cleared and Sakura was mildly surprised to Jiraiya standing there grinning next to an old frog.

"What did you do?" Tsunade asked, eyes narrowing. Jiraiya continued to grin and rubbed the back off his head and Tsunade's glare.

"Nooothing, just went to fight Pain."

"You what?!"

"Went to fight Pain," Jiraiya repeated.

"You could have been killed!!" Tsunade yelled distressed.

"But I wasn't," Jiraiya grinned. "So anyway, I, Jiraiya, the great Toad Sennin, have found out the powers of Pain! Pain has six bodies, the Deva Realm, the Hell Realm, the Human Realm, the Animal Realm, the Asura Realm and the Hungry Ghost Realm. The Rinnegan is implanted in all of their eyes, meaning what one Realm views, all his other bodies also view, even if their vision is damaged. It's a pain, ha-ha, to fight. I fought Pain long enough to figure out what each of them can do. The Deva Realm has the ability to utilize Shinra Tensei, a jutsu capable of gravity manipulation. The Animal Realm is able to summon creatures and other individuals. The Human Realm is a body which focuses more on Taijutsu. The Hell Realm is capable of utilizing a spectral hell figure capable of judging whether one if telling the truth or not. The Asura Realm utilizes a ninja who heavily modified his body with technology. The Hungry Ghost Realm who uses sealing techniques to neutralize most any incoming attack, both natural and elemental.

"Man that's a mouthful," Jiraiya sighed. "I barely survived fighting them all at once, even in sage mode. So we need stronger shinobi if we want to get rid of Pain. That is why I have requested Fukusaku here to teach Naruto sage mode."

"That is one hell of an enemy we've got," Tsunade said, pressing her fingers against her closed eyes. "What the hell does the Rinnegan do again?"

"Rinnegan is the blood inheritance limit of Rikudou Sennin and his descendants. Rikudou Sennin was viewed as the original shinobi and his Doujutsu was regarded as the most venerable of the three great Doujutsu. As the original shinobi it was said he created modern Ninjutsu. The Rinnegan was regarded as a god of creation when the world was racked with chaos and as a weapon of destruction which could return everything to nothingness. Usage of the Rinnegan was said to give the user mastery over all six forms of chakra nature manipulation," Jiraiya explained matter-of-factly.

"Right," Tsunade muttered.

_Knowing the textbook definition won't necessarily help you,_ Sakura thought at them. _Fools, you don't know everything._

"So how do we kill Pain?" Tsunade wondered.

"With little Jiraiya and Naruto in sage mode, Pain will have serious trouble. Perhaps the two of them can take of him on their own," Fukusaku replied, speaking for the first time.

"Sasuke and Gaara have demanded to be able to fight too. Well with six Pains it shouldn't be a problem," Tsunade said.

"Gaara?" Sakura asked. _More likely he only wants to fight to prove that he's better than Sasuke to "win" me. _

"Yes, he and his siblings were also on the retrieval team," Tsunade told her. She turned back to Jiraiya and Fukusaku. "So how long will Naruto's training take?"

"Depends on the boy," Fukusaku answered. "I'll get started on the training right away."

"We can start now. I'm ready," Naruto said as he stepped into the room. Sasuke, Gaara, and Neji entered behind him. Sakura didn't bother to acknowledge their presence but merely continued to stare boredly at Tsunade.

"Can I go now?" she asked. "I already told you what you wanted to know."

"No," Tsunade said flatly, though inwardly surprised at Sakura's change in demeanor. _Pain's doing? _She wondered. Sakura sighed loudly and slouched even further in her chair.

"Sakura-chan, are you feeling okay?" Naruto asked worried.

"I'm fine," she replied, looking out the window.

Sakura was barely able to conceal her surprise but shuddered inwardly as she spotted Kokuei in human form looking straight at her while he stood on the roof of the building next door. She noticed he held a scroll in his hand, probably with new orders, she deduced. Saying nothing, she scraped her chair across the floor while she stood and left the office, ignoring the other shinobis' questions and demands. Sakura slipped her hands into the pockets of her cloak as she walked down the hallway. She glanced at Danzo curiously as he passed by, heading towards Tsunade's office.

_Things are going to come together soon. Master Pain wants Naruto as soon as possible, Danzo wants Tsunade and Naruto dead, and the others want Pain and the Akatsuki dead. What a boat load of fun the final battle will by, _Sakura thought as she stepped outside and immediately jumped away quickly, heading towards her apartment where she could meet Kokuei without worries about spies.

"Well?" Kokuei asked. Sakura studied him for a moment since it had been a while since she had been able to Kokuei in human form. His long black hair went way past his shoulders and he wore a small black collar around his neck. His clothes consisted of an open burgundy shirt, similar to the one Sasuke wore when he was with Orochimaru, and black leather pants. Being a wolf, shoes made him uncomfortable so he walked around barefoot. His piercing dark blue eyes stared at Sakura expectantly.

"Jiraiya has informed the shinobi of Master Pain's different bodies and their basic skills. Naruto is going to be taught Sage Mode by Fukusaku. He, along with Uchiha, Hyuuga, and the Kazekage has sworn to kill Master Pain. I myself haven't said anything about the organization and Master Pain," Sakura said. Kokuei nodded then handed her the scroll.

"You're on your own for now. I am returning to Master Pain after this. Your orders are in there," Kokuei said, obviously referring to the scroll. Sakura nodded and Kokuei left through the front door. Sakura opened the scroll and examined the letter.

_Sakura,_

_Observe and transmit. No talking._

_Pain_

"That's simple enough," Sakura murmured. She quickly burned the scroll with a quick fire jutsu Itachi had taught her. She quickly left her apartment and went back to Hokage Tower, this time masking her chakra and used a jutsu so she blended in with the wall inside the office.

"What do we do about Sakura-chan?" Naruto was saying.

"We can't let her in on the plans for when Akatsuki attacks. Chances are she'll give them to Pain," Neji said.

"Sakura-chan wouldn't do that!!" Naruto argued.

"She could have. Who knows how much the Akatsuki has corrupted her. We can't trust her," Neji continued, hiding the fact that he was still deeply shocked and hurt.

"He's right," Gaara said. "We don't know how she truly feels about us, but, I still swear to protect her, whether she likes it or not. If the Akatsuki believe they can keep Sakura on their side, they are sorely mistaken."

"Yeah, dattebayo!!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke smirked and nodded his head slightly, despite his dislike for the Kazekage.

"Ah, that's nice and everything but do you really believe you can defeat Pain in your current state. The four of you can barely manage to be in the same room with each other before tearing into each other," Tsunade replied.

"We'll manage. For Sakura," Sasuke spoke up.

"How very touching. Wasting your strength on protecting an enemy who has probably sent dozens of shinobi to their deaths since Tsunade had foolishly allowed the girl do nearly half of her paperwork," Danzo said coldly, glaring at Tsunade, who glared right back.

"Sakura isn't cold-hearted like some," Tsunade shot back. "She wouldn't do that."

"It could have been her orders to," Danzo replied.

"Enough! Get out! As Hokage you must obey my orders!" Tsunade shouted. Danzo nodded stiffly and left the office.

"Who's that?" Naruto asked. "He really seems to hate Sakura."

"He's the leader of the foundation of the Anbu Black Ops, or Root, as it's commonly called. He vied for the seat of Third Hokage and as student to the Third and granddaughter to the First, he actively despises me and therefore, Sakura since she's my apprentice," Tsunade said. "Sai works for him."

"Where is Sai anyway?" Naruto wondered. Tsunade shrugged.

"Sai?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh, he was your replacement on Team 7," Tsunade said. "Anyway, he doesn't matter right now. The most important thing is that you all build your strength to defend this village against the Akatsuki. Now go!" The four males nodded and left. Sakura slipped out of the room behind them.

.::.

Hours later, Sakura looked up from the couch as Sasuke entered the house and flopped down on the couch next to her. She raised a brow at his torn clothes and swollen knuckles.

"Training," he explained. Sakura nodded then sat up and took Sasuke's hands.

"Sakura?" he questioned as she ran her thumb over his bruised knuckles.

"Quiet," she ordered absently. Her hands glowed green and she quickly healed his hands.

"Ah. Thanks," he murmured. Sakura shrugged and lay back down on her seat. He studied her for a moment.

"Do you still not believe me?" he asked.

"About what?" she replied, closing her eyes.

"That I love you."

"... Oh."

"Well?"

Sakura shrugged.

"Fine then I'll find out for myself." Sasuke stood up, crouched down next to her, and kissed her. Sakura shifted closer to him to deepen the kiss but Sasuke lifted his head. He smirked. "You like it when I kiss you." He kissed her again.

"Mmm..." Sakura said. _Damn good kisser. Hell of a lot better than Gaara. _

"I'm assuming that means you like me," he whispered. Sakura pulled back.

"I don't know," she said. The conversations with Inner and Itachi had gotten her to actually try to remember how she felt. She felt something warm towards the younger Uchiha but she wasn't sure exactly what. "Pain..." Sasuke nodded, understanding. But he leaned down and kissed her again. When they came up for air, Sasuke smirked down at her again.

"I don't think that's Pain," he said.

"Most everything else is," Sakura muttered, sitting up.

"It won't be for long. He's going to die," Sasuke said flatly. "But for now..." Sasuke stood up and picked up the pink-haired girl bridal style. "I'll just reassure myself of my own feelings."

Sakura rolled her eyes but let him carry her.

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for caring."

"I always have. And I'll never stop." He looked down at the girl in his arms. "Because I love you."


	11. Howling

Thank you all for reviews and adding me or my story to your favorites or alerts list! I really appreciate it! :D

Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even my soul.

It's short, but whatever, I needed to update. Hate it, love it, still leave a review please. :D

* * *

Chapter 11: Howling

* * *

Sakura stared at the sleeping Uchiha in front of her. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she had a delicious view of his naked body. Frowning slightly, she brushed his hair away from his face.

_Why do I feel so much better around him now? _She wondered. _We've only slept together twice and talked a handful of times since he returned. This isn't right. Especially with Pain in control..._

Ah, but the heart cannot forget, Inner commented. And maybe I had something to do with it...

_What?! What are you talking about?! _She demanded of her Inner.

Oh relax. All I did was reawaken some of your feelings for the guy. Pain has no control over me. The guy doesn't even know I exist. 'Cause you know, you locked me up in your subconscious and all.

_So I really do love him, _Sakura mused.

I told you so. And the best part is, he loves you back this time. So we can just play the part of the hapless female while he and the others kill Pain and free you. Isn't life great?

_No, _Sakura replied sourly. _Akatsuki is probably concocting up some great plan and here we are lying naked in bed. We're so dead._

Well if you believe it then at least you'll die sexually sated. Inner grinned mischievously in Sakura's mind. But quickly the grin faded. You really should have more confidence in them you know. Even though they know that you've been pretty much spying on them the whole time, they'll still die to protect you. No reason not to believe and trust them.

_I don't like shinobi, _Sakura admitted reluctantly. _Too much...heartlessness involved. I should have stayed a civilian, like Okaa-san and Otou-san. _

Then you wouldn't have met Sasuke, who by the way, is waking up. 

Sakura snapped out her musings and looked at her lover, who was indeed waking up. Sasuke blinked his eyes twice then sat up to face her.

"Good morning," he said, his lips curving a little.

You can make him do that, Inner whispered softly.

_Do what? _Sakura responded quizzically.

Make him smile. Only you, Inner replied.

Sakura then noticed that the Uchiha was indeed smiling at her. _That's... nice I guess. Wait a minute, how long have you been saying 'you'? You used to say 'us'._

We used to be opposites but now we're like two different people so there's no point in saying 'us.' Inner replied, a tone of sadness in her voice.

"Sakura..." Concerned at her frown, Sasuke reached out and touched her shoulder lightly, bringing her back.

"We should get dressed," Sakura muttered, feeling odd at Inner's statement. Sasuke nodded reluctantly and the two silently got ready for the days to come.

.::.

The days passed quickly, comprising of training for Sasuke and the others, with Sakura observing quietly in the background. Little did they know that she was secretly passing on information about their attacks to the Akatsuki. The only one she had no information about was Naruto, who had left with the frogs to learn sage chakra.

In the relatively safe confines of her mind with Inner did she express her bittersweet feelings about the final battle. Hoping to ease her other's pain, Inner contradicted herself and suggested she no longer share her body with Sasuke. Sakura agreed and she ordered Sasuke to go back to the guest room. The days passed more slowly after that, increasing Sakura's dread.

Sasuke noticed and said nothing, merely waiting for the moment she would freely admit she needed him. That day did not come soon enough.

.::.

Two weeks later, Naruto reappeared, stronger than ever, and just in the nick of time. The very second Pain set foot inside Konoha's village gates, Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara were all over him. Jiraiya and the other shinobi decided to let the boys get their first punches in while they quickly herded the civilians and younger shinobi to safety. Once they'd accomplished that, Tsunade had implored the others to stand by and continue to help get the dead bodies and injured to the hospital. Konoha was barely recognizable from Pain's onslaught. The single untouched thing was the faces carved in to the mountain. Konoha's ancestors and previous protectors silently watched on as the climatic battle for survival went underway.

"You're gonna pay for hurting Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed, already in his powerful sage mode. He wore Hokage-like robes, mainly red with a black flames trim on the bottom. He stood on top Gamabunta, Fukusaku at his feet.

"I will kill you for hurting her," Sasuke swore solemnly, leaping up to stand next to next to his brother. He had changed his clothes, now proudly wearing the full black clothes of the Uchihas.

Gaara merely had his sand by his side at the ready, his teal eyes drilling holes into the pierced leader of Akatsuki before him.

"Now I won't have to hunt you," was all Pain said before one of his bodies leaped into action, making hand seals and slapping his palms against the ground. Two giant rhino-like creatures appeared and charged full speed at the trio.

Naruto waved a hand, motioning the guys to step back. The first summon he caught with his bare hands, and sent it flying. He was about to get rid of the second one but Gamabunta sliced it in half before it could get close enough to Naruto. Naruto flexed his hands and then lifted one to point at Pain.

"Is that all you got?" he taunted. At his side, Sasuke smirked, inwardly marveling how two short weeks with the frogs had made the jinchuuriki grow so much.

"Let's just kill him," Gaara spoke softly.

"Right," Naruto agreed as Sasuke nodded.

The three men leapt from the place on Gamabunta's head and fought against Pain. The six Pains stood no chance against the combined might of Namikaze Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Sabaku no Gaara. Every single Pain was destroyed until the head Pain stood alone against Konoha.

Naruto was breathing heavily, on the very edge of his Sage chakra, his robe long since destroyed. Sasuke was worse off, his shirt completely burned away, showing numerous cuts and burns on his chest. He leaned heavily against his sword, which was stabbed into the dirt. Gaara had long since been defeated, carted back to the sidelines by his siblings.

Seeing as this in one glance, Pain lifted his hands and made a few quick hand signs. Naruto and Sasuke tensed but nothing happened. Pain slowly lowered his hands.

"Come," he said.

Just as he expected, the three nin fell right into his trap. Not that they knew it. The fight went on, Pain just barely getting away from their attacks. His previously pristine Akatsuki cloak was soon burned away by one of Sasuke's fire jutsus, and he coughed up blood as Naruto slammed a Sage chakra-powered punch right in his gut. Pain smirked to himself as the pain radiated through him and then abruptly vanished. He leapt out of the way from Sasuke's fire jutsu then used his gravity jutsu to increase the pressure around them. Sasuke and Naruto were slammed against the ground, unable to move from the invisible weight on their tired backs.

The last of Naruto's sage chakra whispered away and Naruto tapped into the Kyuubi's strength. His nails grew longer, sharper, and the whisker marks on his face grew more prominent and thick, while his eyes turned sickeningly red, like his chakra. Snarling, Naruto was still in control enough to pick Sasuke up before charging foolishly at Pain.

"Rasen Shuriken!!" Naruto shouted as he performed the jutsu and summoned his strongest Rasengan. Similarly, Sasuke activated his Chidori. Compared to Naruto's amazing swirl of chakra, his lighting jutsu seemed pretty weak, but there were no thunderclouds for him to use his strongest jutsu, Kirin. Sasuke raced after Naruto so the two would hit the Akatsuki leader together.

Pain was making it easy for and standing stock still, only a tiny hint of worry in his mind as the two overpowered shinobi hurtled towards him. And suddenly, they were in front of him and their hands thrust inside his chest, their jutsu obliterating his body. Pain smiled to himself as once again, the pain went through and left, again.

"Congratulations," he said softly, for the guys were close enough to hear his soft words. "You have just killed your precious teammate."

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Naruto screamed at him, but pulled his arm out Pain's body. Sasuke's Sharingan eyes narrowed as he too pulled out his hand. The two shinobi froze when they saw Pain's wounds were already healing.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sasuke repeated Naruto's words dangerously. Pain smirked then let out a short evil laugh.

"Once I was the only Pain left standing I performed a jutsu. You remember. That particular jutsu is of my own creation. It allows me to transfer any damage dealt to my body to someone else under my control. And I chose your teammate. You just killed her with your attacks just now," Pain said smugly.

Shocked, Sasuke and Naruto both crumbled to their knees in horror. Sasuke lifted his shaking hands and stared at them.

"_Thanks for caring." _

Sakura's last kind words to him echoed his head. He clenched his fists and leaped to his feet.

"Liar!!!" he screamed in rage. "She can't die!!! She can't! She can't!!!"

Pain watched, almost bored, as Sasuke grabbed Naruto and pulled him to his feet. He dragged him off, sprinting towards Sakura's apartment. He paused briefly to grab Tsunade before he continued on.

"It is futile. Now you will know Pain," he said quietly, watching their retreating figures. He closed his eyes and concentrated fully on healing himself with the chakra he had stolen from Sakura.


	12. Heaven's Drive

Alright, get ready for the long final chapter of My Heart Draws A Dream. :D I feel kind of bad for waiting so long to update, but I had some writer's block on the fight scenes.

For the final time in this story, Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even my soul.

For those of you who haven't guessed it already, Tobi is only Tobi.

Overall, I'm pretty disappointed how choppy my writing for this story is. My writing style changed during the process of this story so I feel like the beginning was written by an entirely different person. And for the ending chapters, Sakura's attitude change seems too abrupt. It had me going... wait, when or how the hell did this happen? Sort of like the latest Harry Potter movie haha. But alas, I have no strength to go back and rewrite the entire thing. So if you don't understand something, it's probably not your fault, but mine.

And now, let us begin and get this over with.

* * *

Chapter 12: Heaven's Drive

Sakura continuously tapped her pencil against the desk, belying her nervousness. Without turning her head, she glanced at the couch in her library where Kokuei lay, awaiting Pain's orders. The wolf-human hybrid leafed lazily through her medical texts while she struggled to concentrate on her own at her desk. She braced her chin against her fist, which was propped up on the table, and tried not to worry about the mayhem that was almost certainly going on outside. Her library was soundproofed so all she heard was the sound of Kokuei turning the pages and, of course, her pencil tapping.

Sighing, she stood up and skirted the table, slipping into the closest aisle of book shelves. She gnawed at her lower lip while she scanned her books, trying not to let images of Sasuke battered and bloody form in her mind. Despite the distance she had created over the past few days and Pain's ruthless hold over her emotions and memory, she still yearned to be near the stoic Uchiha. His stubbornness made him nearly impossible to change which made him the one spot of continuity in the tornado of her messed up life. Whether he would continue to be if Pain was gone, she didn't know. But the slim chance of it being so gave her hope.

Sakura grimaced as Pain's influence kicked in and she felt revulsion go through her at the mention of hope. Her pacifist attitude, magnified by Pain, made her dislike shinobi and it was contradictory for her to care for Sasuke, seeing as he was one and will always be one. Sakura sighed and laid her head against a shelf, feeling a headache brewing.

"Need Pain gone," she mumbled.

"Sakura," Kokuei's voice rang through the room and she stiffened. She walked slowly out of the aisle and up to Kokuei.

"Yes?" she asked. Kokuei's dark blue eyes stared at her and Sakura could see his reprimand for her traitorous thoughts in them.

"Get ready," he ordered. Confused, Sakura nodded and made her way back to her desk and pencil that just begged to be tapped.

_Get ready for what? _Sakura frowned thoughtfully. _Pain never really told me--- _

Sakura let out a scream of pain as it felt like her midsection had something rip right through it. Sakura coughed up blood as she crumbled to the floor. Breathing hard, she tried to send healing chakra to find out what was going on but then she was hit with another mysterious attack. Blood dribbled out her mouth and slowly became a small pool on the floor. Her vision swam blackly and she couldn't concentrate enough to figure out what the hell was going on. She tilted her head on the floor just enough to see two Kokueis standing above.

"Pain cast a jutsu that transferred all the damage his body took to yours. That first attack was the Rasengan of the jinchuuriki. The second one was the Chidori. Don't bother trying to heal it, Pain has already stolen all of your chakra," they explained quietly.

Sakura's eyes blurred with tears of rage and pain before she passed out. Kokuei waited a few moments then turned on his heel and strode away.

.::.

Sasuke ripped through the village with Tsunade and Naruto sprinting behind. They had no idea what was going but it was clear just where their Sharingan wielding comrade was going: Sakura's house. They soon reached the small, two-story home that had miraculously survived the fight so far as it was on the outskirts of the village.

Sasuke burst through the door, screaming Sakura's name. He whirled around then froze when he saw Kokuei coming down the stairs.

"Where is she?!" he snarled, Sharingan tomoe swirling like crazy.

Kokuei paused and looked at Uchiha then at Naruto and Tsunade.

"Do not interfere," he said coolly.

"Fuck you!!" Sasuke charged at the hybrid, activating the Chidori as he ran. With a fiendish grin, he slammed his hand into Kokuei's chest.

"Ugh!" Kokuei grunted but felt no pain. He grasped Sasuke's hand and roughly pulled it out. "Pain has commanded. His will shall be done."

"Sakura-chan isn't Pain's, asshole!" Naruto shouted stomping up to Kokuei. He rammed his fist into his face repeatedly until Kokuei's head slapped against the wall and the wolf-man was knocked out.

"Upstairs!" Sasuke ordered. The trio charged upstairs and after a quick scan, rushed into Sakura's library.

Tsunade made a strangled sound in her throat when she spotted Sakura's bloody body on the floor.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto choked out as he dropped beside her mangled form.

"Move!" Tsunade ordered and bent down beside Sakura across from Naruto. Forgoing Sakura's privacy for the moment, she ripped off her shirt and ran a critical eye over her injuries.

"Pain was right, he transferred his injuries to her," Sakura's voice sounded hollow and he stared at his lover.

"And we'll make him pay," Naruto added viciously.

"Shut up, both of you!" Tsunade snapped, as she quickly moved her glowing hands over Sakura's torso. "God, there's so much damage."

"You can do it, Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto urged. He slipped his hand into Sakura's cold one and Sasuke knelt next to him. He brushed her hair away from her face.

"If you need chakra, take mine," Sasuke said quietly, feeling strangely calm.

Tsunade frowned and struggled to heal the overlapping tears in Sakura's flesh. Sweat dribbled down her face and she muttered the list of injuries to herself while she worked. After a few minutes, the small mark on Tsunade's forehead faded away.

"Running out of chakra!" Tsunade cried through clenched teeth. The cuts and bruises were long healed and the Chidori blow was nearly gone but the wound from the Rasengan still bled freely onto the floor. The precious liquid seeped into the clothes of all three crouching shinobi. Sasuke leaned forward and placed his hands over Tsunade's. Tsunade let out a small noise of distress when another wound opened up on Sakura's body.

"God damn it!" Naruto shouted.

"That fucker Pain must have started fighting someone else!" Sasuke said. Naruto leaped to his feet.

"I'll go stop him!" he said before sprinting out of the room. Sasuke nodded and refocused on Sakura.

Her once pale, smooth skin was now cruelly burned and torn. A gaping hole once dominated her torso, where Sasuke had rammed his Chidori into Pain. Below that and to the right, Naruto's swirling Rasengan had created a similar sized injury but as he watched Tsunade concentrated all her efforts on that part and slowly the skin mended together. Sasuke frowned, curious why the Hokage had fixed the skin while there was still an ugly red marking indicating internal bleeding in the area.

"The latest wound had a rib puncturing her lung, damn it," Tsunade muttered. Sasuke's head snapped up as he heard rushing feet. Shizune burst into the room, panting hard.

"Tsunade-shishou!" she cried out. She rushed forward and dropped down on Sakura's other side.

"Shizune! Fix her lung while I clean up the Chidori and Rasengan wounds! There's still internal bleeding there!" The Godaime ordered. Shizune nodded and pressed her hand against Sakura's chest. Sasuke sucked in a breath as the immense chakra loss made him dizzy and weak.

_Steady, _he ordered himself. _For Sakura. _He glanced at Sakura's closed eye lids and desperately wished to see her beautiful emerald eyes again. _Please, Sakura. Stay with me._

.::.

The fight for Konoha just took a major turn for the worse. The entire Akatsuki had just entered the village and were having the time of their lives wreaking havoc. Except for the young man with long black hair tied into a low ponytail. Itachi ignored the sound of clashing metal and the screams of the injured as several jutsus and shinobi and summons attacked them. He strode purposefully through the half-destroyed village and headed straight for Sakura's apartment. He stopped a few feet away from the door and lowered his chakra mask. And he waited.

Inside, Sasuke's head once again looked up. _That chakra_.....

"Itachi!" Sasuke hissed.

"Don't go, idiot!" Tsunade snapped. "I need your chakra!"

"Damn it," Sasuke cursed under his breath. His mission in life or the love of his life? Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to choose.

_Sakura?_

_Itachi!_

_Sakura?_

_Itachi! _

_Sakura?_

_Itachi!_

_Fuck! I don't know! _

_Sakura. Itachi. Sakura. Itachi. Sakura. Itachi. Sakura. Itachi. _

_Shit, shit, shit!!!! _

"_Well let's face it. Ever since we were kids, all you've known is the need to kill Itachi. Besides that, you know nothing. What are you going to do after Itachi is dead, IF you manage to do that? You don't have any other goals or dreams or hopes. Revenge is meaningless. It's temporary. You'll be nothing if and when Itachi is dead because you don't know anything else. It's all that drives you. You're just an empty shell of the person you were." Naruto replied. "What else do you want out of life, Sasuke? Or are you just going to find another revenge to seek?"_

Sasuke clearly remembered what Naruto had said to him. The stupid dope was right.

_But could I live with Sakura if Itachi is still alive? _

_..._

_No._

_Will I be able to go after Itachi if Sakura is dead?_

_... _

_Yes._

Sasuke leaped to his feet and ran out of the house, ignoring Tsunade and Shizune's shouts. His Sharingan flickered back on.

_It's finally time._

.::.

"Kakashi-sensei!!!! Stop!!!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs as he charged towards the fight between Kakashi and Pain.

"Naruto?" Kakashi paused to question the blonde. Kakashi had lost his jounin vest and hitai-ate and was bleeding nearly everywhere.

"You have to stop!" Naruto panted. "Pain is transferring all his wounds to Sakura-chan! You're hurting her!"

"Still alive, is she?" Pain drawled lazily. "No matter, she is still of use then." Naruto snarled as the anger that coursed through him unlocked some of the Kyuubi's power. The whiskers on his face grew larger and more pronounced, his fingernails became longer and sharper, and his eyes turned red.

"Naruto calm down!" Kakashi furiously shook his student.

"This bastard hurt Sakura-chan!! How can I?!!!" Naruto screamed.

"Because you can't beat anyone with your emotions running wild like that. You could destroy the village if you slip too far," Jiraiya said coolly as he leaped down beside Naruto.

"Ero-sennin!"

"Jiraiya-sensei..." Pain said. He looked at the three powerful shinobi that faced him. "I'm going to enjoy this..."

"I'm going to enjoy sending you to hell!" Naruto shot back and charged towards the Akatsuki leader. With a snarl he activated Sage Mode and quickly formed the Rasengan and slammed it into Pain's chest.

"To Sakura, it goes," Pain smirked and roughly pulled Naruto's arm out and shoved the blond to the ground.

"I don't think so! I wouldn't let my teammates get hurt like this. I left a veil of sage chakra surrounding Sakura-chan! Your chakra can break through it!" Naruto grinned proudly at his genius idea.

"Wow Naruto, you learn pretty quickly now," Kakashi said a little lamely. "Guess you've calmed down now, eh?"

"I do when there are lives on the line and Ero-sennin's right," the jinchuuriki said seriously. He tilted his head and looked at the Akatsuki leader. "You won't get away with hurting Sakura-chan. I swear it." He stood up and calmly brushed the dirt off his clothes. He blinked a few times to ensure his eyes stayed Frog-like for Sage Mode. He glanced back at his mentors then back at Pain. He drew in a deep breath and charged for the fourth time or so that day at Pain.

.::.

Itachi stared coolly at his younger brother, inwardly angry that Sasuke had chosen him over Sakura.

"Foolish little brother," Itachi said softly. The collar of his cloak covered his mouth so Sasuke didn't hear him.

"This ends today," Sasuke said coldly.

"Oh?"

"I've seen it with my Sharingan. I see you dead." Sasuke said flatly.

"And Sakura?" Itachi questioned. Sasuke's eyes flickered.

"What is she to you?" He demanded. Itachi chuckled.

"Answer me!!!" screamed Sasuke.

"You were so desperate to get her back from the Akatsuki but now you leave her dying in her library. I should be asking you that question," Itachi said.

"My hate for you washes my love for her."

"Pathetic. You really are weak." Itachi paused as he remembered that he promised himself that he would punch Sasuke for taking advantage of Sakura.

"Weak?! The only weak one here is you!!!" Sasuke roared and charged at his brother.

.::.

"Tsunade-sama, the wounds are finally closed!!" Shizune said in relief.

"Maybe," Tsunade agreed, panting hard. "But they'll scar." The Hokage lightly ran a hand over the lighter skin covered Sakura's stomach. "Shizune how much chakra do you have left?"

"Around a fourth of my max," her assistant replied. "Why?"

"I want to take a look at the curse mark," Tsunade examined the mark between Sakura's breasts and frowned as it blurred a little. "What the....?"

"Perhaps Naruto has done something to Pain," Shizune guessed.

"Hmm."

"Do you think we'll survive this battle?" Shizune whispered. "The entire Akatsuki is attacking the village and with Sakura like this the hospital certainly won't be able to work as effectively as usual."

"The Will of Fire burns brightly in our shinobi, Shizune. We will live to see tomorrow. But the question is whether Sakura will..." Tsunade looked sadly down at her apprentice. "Anyway, Shizune, you should head to the hospital. Like you said, it's crippled without Sakura. Go!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune replied and immediately left.

Tsunade leaned back on her heels and sighed.

.::.

Gaara uncharacteristically grinned in triumph as he and his recently arrived siblings finally defeated Akatsuki member Deidara after a long and bloody battle. Gaara watched as his sand swam greedily over the blonde's bloody corpse. He glanced over at a shout and noticed Shikamaru and his team a few helpful jounins had trapped Hidan into a pit and covered him in a avalanche of rocks and pieces of infrastructure and were now working on the more nimble Kakuzu.

"Temari go help Shikamaru!" Gaara ordered. His sister looked over at the fight and immediately grabbed her fan and dove in headfirst.

"Gaara!" Kankuro jumped down to the ground beside the Kazekage, having been scouting around while Gaara played with Deidara's dead body. "The Hyuuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans have defeated Zetsu and Tobi. They're pretty worn out but have already started working on Kisame. I think the Akimichi clan was starting to help them out when I left," he reported quickly.

"Good. Go give them a hand. Make sure we minimize civilian casualties. It would be pointless that after we win this war there would be no one left in the village," Gaara said calmly.

"What about you?"

Gaara looked off in the general direction of Sakura's apartment. His hand closed over a pouch at his side. "I have a lover to win back." He sprinted away.

"That sounded pretty damn corny, little bro," Kankuro grinned to himself and shook his head before heading back towards the fight.

Gaara quickly made it to Sakura's apartment and landed easily on his roof. His glanced back down and felt reluctant admiration when he saw Sasuke slam a panting Itachi into a wall. He knew they were yelling at each other (or at least Sasuke was) but tuned it out as he leaned backwards and flipped inside. He brushed some glass off his sleeve then quickly left the room and went into his lover's library. He paled and his skin chilled when he saw Sakura's motionless body. He couldn't even see the rise and fall of her breasts for her breathing. Tsunade sat on the floor next to her, eyes narrowed, examining the curse mark.

"Hokage-sama," he greeted, his voice strangely calm as he sat down across from her.

"Gaara!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Why aren't you outside helping?"

"What happened?" he ignored her question. He stroked a finger down Sakura's cold, pale cheek.

"Pain can use this curse mark to transfer his injuries to Sakura so he stays unharmed. She got 'hit' with the Chidori, Rasengan, and some weapons. Her pulse is weak but it's there. However, I can't get her to wake up! There's another layer to this curse," Tsunade said frustrated.

"Earlier you said Sakura's moods have been spiking up and down like crazy. Perhaps Pain has control of her conscience? During the retrieval mission Sakura black out for a bit inside the base and then woke with new orders for the Akatsuki from Pain. There's some connection beyond the transfer jutsu," Gaara deduced.

"That connection ... hmmm maybe it isn't just simple control but overpowering..." Tsunade mused.

"Come again?"

"This type of total obedience comes from a person's will or spirit. In all likeliness Pain did exactly that to Sakura when he first captured her. It worked perfectly well until Sasuke returned. That means Sakura never got over Sasuke so he still holds a piece of her heart. But when the Akatsuki took her back," Tsunade said slowly, "Pain obviously had some sort of personal contact with her, likely when you said she blacked out. That contact with Pain reinforced his hold on her, hence her change in attitude when she was brought back. I don't know what her attitude has been like as of lately since she's been avoiding me." Tsunade frowned.

"How does that help us now?" Gaara demanded.

"I'm saying that we have to make Sakura's will stronger than Pain's! Or make Pain's weaker! And the only obvious way to get Sakura's will stronger is through Sasuke," Tsunade snapped impatiently. _Damn it, we're wasting time!_ She thought furiously.

"He chose Itachi over her," Gaara replied bitterly, his voice low.

"She was already out by then. She doesn't know. Let's just do it," Tsunade ordered. "I'm not that thoroughly train in interrogation skills but we should be able to get inside her mind."

"Won't be necessary," Gaara suddenly remembered the item in his side pouch. He zipped said pouch open and took out a vial filled with a questionably murky-looking liquid. "This potion... should wake up Inner."

"Inner?" Tsunade echoed. Gaara nodded and pulled out the stopper and then tipped Sakura's head back to slip the liquid inside her mouth, shutting her jaw to make her swallow.

"There."

"Now what?"

"Now we wait."

Any passerby would have wondered how important the unconscious person was if two Kage were sitting on the floor beside her while a war raged on outside.

.::.

The concoction was quick-acting and sent chakra-powered jolts throughout Sakura's mind, just strong enough to prick the conscious of Inner Sakura, causing her to wake from her slumber.

"What the...?" Inner looked around the white walls of her Outer's mind. Standing up, Inner frowned and kicked at the water level at her feet. "The water level has risen since last time I was up." Making a few hand signs, Inner tapped into the Hippocampus, quickly fast-forwarding through Outer Sakura's latest memories. Inner groaned loudly. "Gotta find Outer me."

She quickly ran through the familiar white halls, turning left and right, heading toward the part of the mind where Pain controlled. As she got closer, the walls and lighting got gradually darker, becoming a mix of blood red and black. The temperature dropped sharply and soon Inner's breath came out in small visible puffs. Swallowing hard, Inner paused in front of a set of large wooden doors that were stained with Sakura and Pain's blood. Inner lightly touched the ice cold black handle and bracing herself, pushed it open.

She hadn't even stepped inside when the putrid odor of rotting flesh rolled over her in waves. She gagged and stumbled back, slapping a hand over her mouth. She squinted and tried to see inside the room but couldn't perceive anything in the black darkness. The horrible stench still hung in the air but Inner took a deep breath and slowly walked inside.

Inner stretched out her arms to the side as far they could go to feel for a wall but found none. Inching forward slowly, Inner strained to hear anything that might tell her what kind of terrible place she was in. Inner continued walking for a few minutes then frowned when she felt a liquid splash against her sandals. She crouched down and patted the ground next to her. A liquid stained her fingertips and Inner held up her hand, trying to see what it was. She brought it close to her face and smelled it. It had a metallic scent to it and when she tentatively sucked on her finger, it tasted like iron.

"Blood!" Inner exclaimed. Still crouched, she balanced on leg while extending the other one to see how big the pool of blood was. "What the..." The pool went past what her leg could reach. Inner stood again and continued forward. This time, her hands stretched out in front of her.

After about ten minutes of splashing around in blood, Inner's hands bumped into something. She gasped and ran her fingers along whatever she was in front of. It was a metal container of some sort with thick ridges set a few inches apart. As Inner continued feeling around, she realized it was a circular container, sort of like a vertical coffin. She found a crease and tried to pry off the lid not really thinking what was inside. With a grunt, Inner pulled her hardest and the coffin opened the tiniest bit.

"Damn!" she cried. Suddenly, a light filled the room from above and Inner shielded her eyes and covered them with her arms. After a couple of seconds, the light evened out and Inner lowered her arms. Inner blinked her eyes open and gasped again. The room she was in was immense. The walls were stained black and red, which looked suspiciously like the blood that filled the later half of the floor. Inner turned and faced the coffin. It was indeed metal, colored silver, and the ridges were black. The two middle ridges ran along to the side and formed into a lock that held the coffin shut. Lifting her eyes from the coffin, Inner spotted a mark on the wall above the coffin. She stepped back a few paces until she could read it. On the wall, written in blood, was a giant kanji for Pain. Inner looked between the kanji and the coffin several times.

"No way," she said slowly. She reached out and flipped open the locks. She turned around and pushed the coffin's lid off then turned back to once again gasp at the sight she saw.

Wrapped tightly in bandages with the markings of a jutsu on it was Sakura. The bandages covered her feet and went up to her neck, leaving her head hanging limply forward. Inner lowered her head and peered upward into Sakura's face. It was formed into a painful grimace, brow furrowed and mouth turned down.

"This is so fucked up," Inner whispered. "If she's in here, who the hell was I talking with these past years? And who the hell did Sasuke take advantage of?" Inner whipped out a kunai and started cutting away the bandages, cursing all the while. "Damn it, if I had just explored my own damn mind, I could have found her ages ago!! Shit, stupid, stupid me!!"

Inner finally was able to rip the bandages away and Sakura leaned limply forward but was caught in the chakra handcuffs that were strapped around her hands and feet. Inner wrapped her hand around the cuff on Sakura's right hand (wrist, technically) and slid her thumb under the cuff. Summoning a portion of the little chakra Outer doled out to her, Inner ripped off the cuff. She continued with the three others until Sakura collapsed on top of her. Inner flipped her counterpart to her back and immediately started shaking her furiously.

"Wake up, damn it! Come on!! We, you mainly, have to get rid of Pain!!!" Inner yelled but Sakura remained stubbornly out cold, face still contorted. Inner groaned and leaned back on her haunches. "Come on... what would get her to wake up??" Inner paused then smacked herself on the forehead, leaving a red mark over her 'Inner Sakura' tattoo. "Of course!" Inner leaned forward again, staring straight into Sakura's face.

"Wake up!!! If you don't, Sasuke's going to die fighting against Itachi!! Or if he survives he'll leave because You. Aren't. There." Inner shouted loudly. Inner waited a few tense seconds before sighing again. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

A few agonizing minutes passed then Sakura's little finger twitched a little. Inner's head snapped up.

"Come on!! Sakura wake up!! For Sasuke at least! He loves you!" Inner wasn't sure about that last part but didn't care. Sakura's hand moved to the side a little. Then her feet moved up and down. Inner held her breath when she saw Sakura's eyes flicker behind their lids.

"Wake. Up." Inner shouted at the top of her lungs. Sakura made a little gurgling sound that sounded more like music to Inner's ears than Sasuke's breathy groans in the night.

"Mmm..." Sakura whimpered as she struggled to open her eyes.

"Sakura, come on!" Inner pleaded.

"Shut up," Sakura groaned painfully. Finally, her eyes opened and she struggled to sit up. She looked blearily around the prison cell. "Where are we?"

"Hell," Inner answered shortly. "Don't you remember?"

"Not really," Sakura rubbed her fingers against her forehead, trying to clear her fuzzy mind.

"Then tap into the Hippocampus. There's a war going on and everyone's life is on the line."

Sakura nodded and made the proper hand signs. Inner stood up and stretched while Sakura oriented herself. Inner shook her legs a little, wondering how to get Sakura back in control of her body. Obviously the one who was in control now mentally was Pain.

"Holy... fucking... shit," Sakura breathed when she was done. Inner turned back around and glanced at Sakura's pale, shocked face.

"Ditto, my alter ego," Inner replied dryly. "Now let's go and clean up this mess. As much as we can, anyway. Not much we can do with Pain in charge of our strings."

"That happened? All of it?" Sakura asked.

"Every single one, my dear. Now let's go!"

Sakura nodded and unsteadily gained her feet. The pair made their way out the damned room and headed back towards sanity.

"You know I vaguely remember sleeping with Sasuke. Twice actually," Sakura informed Inner. Inner glanced back at her.

"I would imagine. Unless Pain is gay, I don't think he'd have a reason to jump Sasuke," Inner chuckled. Sakura looked curiously at her.

"You're acting different," she said.

"I have to, since I'm the better one around here," Inner grinned.

"Hey!"

"It's true. Now let's find Pain."

Sakura frowned. "You think he has like, a physical presence inside our, I mean my, head?"

"Kokuei was primarily for that though he was outside. But since you're awake and we aren't back in the driver's seat, I'm pretty sure there's something else in here besides us," Inner said.

"Well, shit."

.::.

Itachi's eyes throbbed painfully as his battle with Sasuke continued on. Though his face was passive, inwardly, Itachi was extremely proud of how far his otouto had progressed in such a short while. The only fault in Sasuke's otherwise perfect world was that he had pushed away Sakura. Itachi would be damned before he'd let his foolish little brother keep Sakura away. He let out a whoosh of air when Sasuke slipped his guard (again) and slammed his fist into Itachi's gut. Itachi clamped a hand around Sasuke's wrist.

"You've gotten... much stronger," Itachi said. "However... you still... lack..."

"I don't lack anything!!" Sasuke shouted defiantly. "I can kill you!!"

Itachi wanted to smack himself in the forehead. Had all the years of hate made him _that _dense?

Itachi leaned closer into Sasuke's face. "Sakura, then?" Sasuke flinched and looked away.

"She can wait," Sasuke muttered. He lifted his head and glared at his brother. "You will die first."

"Fool!" Itachi hissed and tightened his grip on Sasuke's wrist. "I knew you and the rest of your little group was spying on Sakura and my conversation with her. Did you learn nothing?"

Sasuke went still as he remembered. Itachi's beloved girlfriend and her death at the hands of their father. And something about the 'truth' of the Uchiha clan.

"How do I know that's true?!" Sasuke demanded. "In Kumo, Sakura said you lied to me!" Furious, he tried to yank his arm away but Itachi's grip was too tight. He lifted his other hand, crackling with the Chidori, and lunged out but Itachi grabbed that hand too. Sasuke struggled uselessly for a few minutes. Itachi jerked Sasuke's hands and he stilled. Itachi closed his eyes then after a minute, slowly opened them. Sasuke's own eyes widened as he saw his brother's regular for the first time in over twelve years. They were still a dark depthless coal gray. And in those quiet eyes, Sasuke could see pure truth reflected in them.

Sasuke felt the world shift under his feet and suddenly he didn't understand anything anymore.

"Why?" he whispered painfully. Itachi relinquished one of Sasuke's hands and then quickly made a few hand signs. The brothers disappeared in a puff of smoke then reappeared in the Uchiha compound.

"In these walls, a coup d'état was planned. Headed by our father, Uchiha Fugaku, patriarch of the Uchiha clan," Itachi said clearly. Sasuke went still.

"What?" he asked hoarsely. Itachi nodded slightly.

"It was my mission to end it before it started otherwise we would have another shinobi war on our hands," Itachi stated bluntly. It was harsh to reveal all of it Sasuke this way but Itachi had no other choice. Sakura was Sasuke's key to happiness (and vice versa) and Itachi was damn well going to make sure they got and stayed together.

"End it?" Sasuke echoed. Itachi spared him a glance.

"Correct. In other words, kill them," Itachi replied.

"Not all of our clan was shinobi!" Sasuke retorted angrily.

"The council refused to listen. They ordered me to kill every Uchiha on the premises," Itachi said. "I killed all... but one. You. My foolish little brother. My otouto. My one precious thing besides Chiyuki."

"But what does this have to do with Sakura and me?" Sasuke said shakily.

"If you haven't figured that out for yourself, than you're a bigger fool than I thought!" Frustrated, Itachi threw his hands in the air. It was very un-him but perhaps it would work. "If you still cannot see that Sakura completes your life, then I give up! Drive your Chidori into my heart, Sasuke! I've had enough of trying to get you to see past your nose!"

Baffled and still reeling with the earth-shattering news, Sasuke stared at his brother. _Has he gone insane? _He wondered.

.::.

Naruto snarled with triumph as he put another hole in Pain. He'd already used up one of his clones that he had ordered to stay back at the mountain. He glanced to the side and examined his senseis. Kakashi had been hurt badly enough that he'd lost his hitai-ate and jounin vest. Jiraiya was still going strong, not really fighting at all but rather arguing with his ex-student. Naruto himself had gotten his jacket burned so he wore only a black T-shirt with an orange spiral on it.

"Ero-sennin! Can't I kill him yet?" Naruto whined a little.

"Not yet. There's still Sakura to consider," Jiraiya replied, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

Despite the hole in his shoulder and the blood pumping out of a dozen wounds, Pain smirked.

"The little bitch is forever mine," he mocked, enjoying how his words provoked the Kyuubi.

"Shut the fuck up!!" Naruto roared, once again letting some of the Kyuubi's chakra seep through the seal.

"Naruto calm down!" Kakashi commanded. "He's just playing you." But Kakashi's Sharingan spun wildly at Pain's crude words.

Suddenly, a huge explosion went off behind Pain. The four shinobi turned toward the giant black smoke haze forming.

"What's going on?" Naruto demanded. The three other shinobi had no reply.

Confused, Naruto stepped forward. And Pain suddenly pitched forward and collapsed on his knees. The Akatsuki leader clutched his chest and he started to pant hard. Pain spasms shook his body and blood starting leaking out of his nose. Pain shuddered and clutched his head.

"Hey! What's going on?" Naruto demanded again.

"It must be Sakura!" Kakashi realized.

"She must have somehow broken the connection!" Jiraiya concluded. Naruto's face broke out in a wide grin and the Kyuubi's chakra faded.

"Alright Sakura-chan!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Naruto rotated his arm in a circular motion then summoned a Rasengan to his hand.

"Do you mind, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya shook his head.

"Go ahead, Naruto. You are the child of prophecy, not Pain," Jiraiya smiled cryptically. Naruto shrugged then for the last time charged at Pain. The older male was still gasping painfully on the ground and Naruto easily slammed his jutsu right into Pain's heart. Pain coughed up blood and died instantly when the Rasengan blew up his heart. Blood splattered on to Naruto's cheek.

"It seems so easy now," Naruto said quietly a few minutes later. "To end a life."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Being like that doesn't fit you, Naruto. Now go check on Sakura and Tsunade. Kakashi and I and the rest of the village can hold down the fort."

"Right." Oddly calm, Naruto nodded. The man turned and leaped away.

"You know that death seemed quite anticlimactic, don't you think? Are you sure Pain didn't have some trick up his sleeve?" Kakashi asked the Sennin.

"I hope not," Jiraiya sighed. "It's been too long of a war."

Kakashi chuckled. "A war with only two battles, actually."

"Whatever," Jiraiya moved his shoulders. "It's been too taxing on those three. I want it to end soon."

"It will."

_Hopefully._

.::.

Gaara sat back down next to Sakura's limp body. Absently he checked her pulse and froze. The weak beat of her pulse was steadily getting stronger and beating more often.

"Hokage-sama!" he said urgently.

"Huh? What?" Tsunade snapped out of her light doze.

"Sakura's pulse is getting stronger!" Gaara said triumphantly. Tsunade's jaw dropped and checked Sakura's pulse at her wrist.

"You're right! I wonder what happened?" The two Kage stared wonderingly at the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto shouted as he burst into the room. The Kage jolted and glanced up sharply at Naruto.

"Naruto! What's happened?!" Tsunade demanded.

Naruto grinned foolishly.

"Pain is dead! I killed him!" Naruto crowed proudly. Then he paused. "Hey, where's Sasuke-teme?"

"He left to go after Itachi," Gaara said in disgust again.

"That teme!" Naruto cried. "He is seriously getting less and less deserving of Sakura-chan!"

"Excuse me?" Gaara said coldly. Naruto grinned sheepishly as he sat down next to Gaara near Sakura's head.

"Sorry, Gaara. You're great and Sakura-chan likes you a lot, but Sasuke-teme has always been the one for Sakura-chan!"

"Unfortunately, I agree with the brat," Tsunade put in.

"Well, I—" Gaara broke off when a weak groan came from below them. The three glanced down to see Sakura struggling to open her eyes.

"Sakura-chan!!!" Naruto shouted.

"Pipe down," Tsunade said annoyed. "You don't want her deaf, do you?" Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm just glad she's safe again, you know?" Tsunade nodded reluctantly then returned her attention to her apprentice.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered painfully, her eyes fluttering open. The three smiles dropped away. Sakura turned her head slightly and looked at the blurry face of Naruto. "Naruto, where's Sasuke-kun?"

"He's... ah... Sasuke-teme is..." Naruto didn't know what to say.

"He left you for Itachi," Gaara said grimly.

"No, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whimpered. She struggled to sit up and leaned heavily against Naruto. "I need to... I need to see Sasuke-kun."

Naruto automatically draped an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "I don't know where he is, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry."

"He's at the Uchiha compound," a voice said behind them. The four turned their heads. Sakura gasped.

"Itachi!" she cried. Itachi's lips curved ever so slightly.

"I'm glad you're safe," he told her. Sakura nodded.

"Now go save Sasuke!" he ordered.

"From what?" Naruto demanded.

Itachi ignored Naruto and disappeared in a swarm of crows.

"Naruto, take me," Sakura pleaded. "Take me to Sasuke-kun."

Grudgingly, Naruto nodded and the pair slowly stood up.

"Wait, Sakura," Tsunade said and stood up too.

"Yes, shishou?" Sakura said through gritted teeth. Her head ached like crazy.

Tsunade smiled softly and hugged her daughter. "Don't forget, Sasuke's a man so he starts with one strike against him."

Sakura laughed and nodded. "Thanks, shishou."

Naruto moved his arm to around Sakura's waist and the two headed off.

"Well," Tsunade said once they were gone. "Time to make the remaining Akatsuki pay for ruining my village."

Gaara went pale at the mischievous and murderous glint in Tsunade's eyes.

.::.

"Naruto, wait here," Sakura said clearly once they reached the gates of the Uchiha compound.

"But, Sakura-chan," he protested. Sakura cut him off with a look.

"I'm sorry, but this is between Sasuke-kun and me," she said. Naruto nodded and stepped back.

"I'll be here if you need me," Naruto replied.

Sakura smiled softly. "I know."

Sakura turned and walked alone into the compound. Traditional houses flanked each side of the main street she walked through. Despite never having come here before, Sakura somehow knew immediately where to go. She wound through the avenues, coming to a stop in front of the largest house in the compound. The Main Family home. Sakura stepped onto the walkway and walked around to the back of the house. She stepped off the walkway and strode into the gardens behind the mansion. Following the twists and turns, Sakura soon ended up in the center of the garden, where she found Sasuke staring blankly at the ground.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called out hesitantly. She saw Sasuke's shoulders stiffen before he slowly turned around to face her.

"Sakura?" he said hollowly. Sakura's heart broke at the lost look on his face. She approached him quickly and enveloped him in a hug.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered tenderly, pressing her face into his neck.

"I'm so confused."

"I know, I know," Sakura ran her hands reassuringly up and down his arms. "The truth to be suddenly revealed to you after all these years, it must be such a shock."

"A shock?" Sasuke let out a half laugh.

"Itachi just wanted to protect you." Sakura said.

"From what?" Sasuke demanded.

"From yourself," Sakura eased back and looked intently at Sasuke's face.

"From myself."

"Yes. What would you have done if Itachi hadn't drilled into you to come after him for revenge? Be honest."

"I would..." Sasuke sucked in a breath. "I would have killed myself." Sakura nodded.

"Correct. And though revenge had some serious drawbacks, it was the only thing Itachi could think of to stop you from doing that."

"How do you know?" Sasuke demanded.

"Itachi told me when he found out how much I truly loved you. Love you," Sakura corrected.

"Ah."

Sakura gently touched his cheek.

"Relax, Sasuke-kun," she said soothingly. "I know you're tired. Just relax. Lean on me for once."

"Sakura," Sasuke dragged her close and kissed her roughly. "Sakura," he repeated when their lips parted.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura replied, a bit dizzy from their kiss. "What is it?"

"..." Sasuke didn't know what to say. Sakura smiled.

"Take your time," she invited. "I'll always be here for you."

Sakura drew her against him. "I'm an impatient man, Sakura."

"Uh-huh, I know."

Sasuke paused. "That's why I want you to marry me. As soon as possible."

"What?" Now Sakura didn't know what to say. Sasuke smirked, slowly feeling more and more normal.

"You heard me," he said.

Sakura stared. "We're in the middle of the fight of our lives, where we both almost died, and you're asking me to marry you? From violence to romance?"

"Not completely romance," Sasuke mused. He tipped Sakura's head back with his finger and stared into her beautiful emerald eyes. "I love you." He kissed her softly, gently.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura moaned.

"Mm, now that's romance," Sasuke licked his lips when they parted. He waited a beat. "So now will you marry me?"

Sakura closed her eyes to clear her head. When she opened them, she was nearly blinded by the bright shine of the sun above Sasuke's head. She looked at him closely. His clothes were torn and burned, his hair was ruffled, he was bleeding from a dozen small cuts, and he had the stupidest grin on his face as he stared right back at her. Then she laughed and the years faded away. She jumped into his arms.

"Sure, Sasuke-kun. It's always been my dream," she held his face in her hands and kissed him. His arms slid around her waist.

Yes, her heart was complete now.

* * *

Ha! What a lame and corny ending. There are several lose ends to it, such as how Sakura got rid of Pain's mind control, where Itachi went, how all the Akatsuki members died and how Sasuke and everybody else handles with the truth of the Uchiha massacre. If you're that interested I can write an epilogue since I know how to neatly tie it up that way. I would have put it in the chapter but I'm so damn lazy and I just wanted to finally finish this thing.

So yeah, it's done. Finally. Bleh.


	13. Epilogue

Le epilogue, as requested. It's a bit predictable and cliché, but it ties up all the loose ends nicely. Or at least, I think so.

* * *

_Six years later_

Hidden deep in the forest, the ninja village called Konohagakure resided. Its people and their leader happily lived their lives, having resolved the turmoil that had unleashed chaos for a few short weeks. In the western part of the village, particularly, the peaceful atmosphere was most strong. Nestled against a small grove of cherry trees, the grand Uchiha compound stood tall. At the back of the traditional-styled building, a dark-haired boy of five years old sparred with his father. The patriarch of the Uchiha clan had straight black hair and brooding black eyes. He stood proud and erect, swathed in jounin attire, vest and all. A band of gold glinted on his finger.

Leaning her head against the wooden pane of a window on the second floor facing the training field sat Lady Uchiha. Her pink hair was tied into a low ponytail and her lips were curved into a smile. She wore one of her husband's shirts and pants. Her gaze drifted over her husband and son as her hand lay over her swollen belly.

"You really should at least see him once, you know," she murmured. "It wasn't easy to lay out the entire truth for him and the rest of the village. Of course, Naruto didn't take it well and vowed to reform the entire village when he took over as Hokage. It won't be possible for secrets such as those to stay hidden anymore. Tsunade-shishou is seeing to it. She ousted the council members first. The old prudes, Danzo included, were banished from the village. I couldn't stop Sasuke-kun from killing Danzo before the bastard left though. Ah well," the woman shrugged her shoulders. "The coup d'état was partially his doing after all."

The woman turned her head and stood up.

"Six years have passed and you still look over him. You've been named a hero, you know." She paused and looked for any reaction but the figure standing in the shadows didn't move. She sighed. "Say something, Itachi."

"Something."

She scowled as the man smirked.

"And I'm no longer watching over him. Not really. I was just curious after all, to see what my nephew looked like." Itachi's gaze dropped to her belly. "And my future one."

"It could be a girl," she smiled and rubbed her hand over her baby. Itachi chuckled and nodded.

"You could come back and stay here. Instead of being cooped up in that little cabin near the coast," she pointed out.

"It was best for me not to make many appearances before. It still is, Sakura," Itachi murmured. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sasuke won't have true peace unless he is able to be with you. Even just for a little bit!" she said. Itachi let out a small sigh.

"Sakura?" a voice called.

"Okaa-san!" a younger voice yelled. Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Sakura swiftly glanced at the doorway then back at Itachi. He'd stepped back deeper into the shadows.

"Okaa-san!!" a short black blur burst into the room and jumped at Sakura.

"Minoru!" Sasuke's voice snapped just as Sakura stepped back quickly so her son wouldn't bump into the baby.

"Ah! Gomen, Okaa-san! I forgot for a second there!" Minoru hastily apologized. His green eyes darted worriedly over his mother's pregnant belly.

"It's fine, Minoru." Sakura looked at Sasuke. She walked toward him and kissed him lovingly while Minoru made childish gagging sounds behind his hands.

"Mm, Sakura," Sasuke slipped his arms around his wife's waist and pressed her closer. When they finally broke apart, Sasuke's eyes flashed into the Sharingan and shoved Sakura behind him. He glared into the shadows.

"Show yourself!" he barked.

Itachi debated whether to comply. He glanced at Sakura and sighed at her furious nods. He reluctantly stepped out into the open.

"If I had been an enemy shinobi, my foolish otouto, Sakura and Minoru would have been dead already," Itachi said.

Sasuke's eyes widened and the Sharingan switched off.

"Aniki?" he whispered.

"Ne, Okaa-san, Otou-san, who's he?" Minoru asked, edging toward his parents.

"His name is Uchiha Itachi. He's your father's older brother," Sakura introduced calmly. "Itachi, my son, Uchiha Minoru."

"What... what are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded hesitantly.

"He claimed he just wanted to see what Minoru was like," Sakura replied. She placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder when he turned to face her.

"How long has he been here? How long have you known?!" Sasuke demanded angrily.

"Do not get angry with Sakura," Itachi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "It was my choice. And if you must know I have only been here an hour."

"Where have you been?" Sasuke asked, turning back to Itachi.

Itachi was silent.

"A little cabin near the eastern coast of Konoha," Sakura replied. "Minoru, let's go outside. Your father and uncle need to talk."

"Hai," Minoru clasped his mother's slim hand and the pair left. Their footsteps soon went down the stairs.

Sasuke's mouth went dry.

"Sit down, otouto, we have much to talk about," Itachi sighed again and sat down cross-legged on the wooden floor. Sasuke soon followed suit.

.::.

"Sakura-chan!!"

Sakura turned and raised a brow at the orange, yellow, and black blur heading straight for her. Minoru leaped in front of her and stuck his arms out

"Don't hurt the baby!" he shouted. Immediately the blur struggled to skid to a halt.

"Was it with everyone choosing to greet me with a tackle?" Sakura wondered. She looked behind the blond panting on front of her. "God, Naruto, you left Hinata behind!"

"Huh? Oh no, Hinata-chan!" Naruto whirled around and ran back to his wife. He grabbed her hand and they walked toward Sakura together.

"Morning, Sakura," Hinata greeted. "You too, Minoru-kun."

"Good morning," Minoru said politely, holding his mother's hand again.

"Oi, where's teme?" Naruto asked.

"Ah, he has some clan work to do," Sakura replied vaguely.

"Clan work? The only clan work is you and Minoru!" Naruto said confused.

"The baby's room," Sakura claimed and Naruto nodded.

"Well, anyway, he can just catch up later. Come on, Sakura-chan, everyone's already baa-chan's office," Naruto held Sakura's hand and Hinata's in the other as he swung into step beside the pink-haired woman.

"What for?" Sakura asked.

"Probably going to finally name me Hokage," he grinned widely. Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes.

The quartet soon arrived at Hokage Tower. Sakura knocked once then pushed the double doors open. She raised a brow at amount of people present. All of her classmates, Team Gai, and the Suna siblings were there. Sakura looked at Gaara for a moment then turned away when Tsunade cleared her throat.

"I've gather you all here today to make some final adjustments to our 'clean-up' you could say of the village," she said. "Sakura, where's Sasuke?"

"He's busy," Sakura said. Tsunade frowned then shrugged.

"Well anyway, is there anything else about the Uchiha massacre you haven't mentioned yet?" she asked. Sakura hesitated.

"There is one little thing."

"Which is?"

"Itachi's girlfriend, Chiyuki. She doesn't have an actual gravestone," Sakura said.

"That was true?!" Tsunade was surprised.

"Of course it was!" Sakura scowled. She reached up and touched the emerald necklace she always wore around her neck. _Itachi really loved her, damn Fugaku._

"Do you know where Chiyuki was buried?" Tsunade asked. Sakura nodded.

"Alright then, a grave marker for Chiyuki. So we've gotten rid of the council, Danzo, and Root. The massacre mission scroll, unfortunately, was burned by Danzo. But, as you all know, the Third's journal was ample evidence. I've put measures in place to prevent such ever happening again. God forbid if the Hyuugas start something like this," Tsunade summarized and tried a smile but was defeated by Neji's insulted glare.

Sakura glanced back when the doors opened. Sasuke strode in and immediately went up to her and hugged her. Sakura squeezed him fiercely.

"You okay?" she murmured, stroking his hair.

"Better," he mumbled, pressing his face into her neck. He breathed in her scent, still the same after all the years. "I love you, Sakura."

Sakura smiled beautifully, as she always did when he said those words.

Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Now that that touching scene is over, we can get back to business," Tsunade said with a wry smile. Sakura turned back with an apologetic smile and Sasuke stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her belly and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Enough has been done for the Uchiha clan. Whatever you do now is for the future protection of the village," Sasuke stated.

"Really?" Tsunade raised a brow. Sasuke nodded.

"I've made my peace and I have all that I want," So saying, Sasuke brushed his lips over Sakura's cheek. Sakura blushed. She waited a beat and felt slightly empty when she didn't hear Inner's comment. She sighed quietly and mourned the loss of her alter ego.

"Stop being so touchy-feely, teme!" Naruto whined. "God, you've been like this for like five years!"

"So?" Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke noticed how hard Gaara was clenching his fists. With a smirk, he nuzzled Sakura's neck. A muscle twitched in Gaara's cheek.

"If you two are just going to make out, then leave!" Tsunade said annoyed.

"Fine," Sasuke lowered his hand to grasp Sakura and tugged her out of the room.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura protested when the doors shut behind them. "What if there was something important?"

"The dope will tell us later if there is anything," Sasuke reminded her and Sakura nodded. They continued to hold hands as they walked out of the Tower.

"How's Itachi?" Sakura asked softly.

"He's fine, I guess," Sasuke frowned slightly. "We talked and cleared some of the stuff that's been bothering me."

Sakura slanted him a look. "If you needed to know anything, you could've asked me."

"Sorry, but it was private family stuff. Before the massacre," he added and Sakura nodded.

"Is he still there?"

"No, he left."

"Then who's with Minoru?!" Sakura demanded.

"Right here, Okaa-san!" Minoru chirped, jumping down from the rooftops to his parents.

"Where were you?" Sakura asked concerned.

"Oh, Itachi-ji-san wanted to talk to me," Minoru replied, brushing some dirt from his black shorts.

"What kind of stuff?" Sasuke wondered.

"Oh that's a secret, Otou-san," Minoru grinned and eyed his mother's belly pointedly.

Sakura sighed and shook her head, knowing what Minoru was hinting at.

"What is it?" Sasuke tugged on Sakura's hand.

"Ah, it's nothing, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled and kissed him briefly on the lips. "Now let's go give Chiyuki some peace too."

"Hey, do you even know where she's buried?" Sasuke wondered as the trio starting walking towards the forest.

"Hai," Sakura laughed. "It's my business to know where all the important people of the Uchihas are!"

"I know where mine are," Sasuke put an arm around Minoru's shoulders and his other arm around Sakura's waist. "And I'm keeping them."

Itachi watched from afar, crouched low on a rooftop. His lips curved in a smile on the serene expression on the trio's faces.

"It's about time you achieved what I never got the chance to, foolish otouto," Itachi mused. He stood and turned to fade back into the shadows.


End file.
